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Baadasssss!

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Baadasssss!
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMario Van Peebles
Written byMario Van Peebles
Dennis Haggerty
Based onSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto
by Melvin Van Peebles
Produced byMario Van Peebles
StarringMario Van Peebles
David Alan Grier
Nia Long
Rainn Wilson
Terry Crews
CinematographyRobert Primes
Edited byAnthony Miller
Nneka Goforth
Music byTyler Bates
Production
companies
Bad Aaas Cinema
MVP Films
Showtime Independent Films
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • September 7, 2003 (2003-09-07) (Toronto International Film Festival)
  • May 28, 2004 (2004-05-28)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$365,727[1]

Baadasssss! is a 2003 American biographical drama film, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles (played by Mario himself), as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews.

Plot

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A mock documentary opens the film with the actors (in character as the production crew members) reflecting on the tumultuous events of the 1960s. As the Vietnam War continues, stereotypical depictions of Black Americans in cinema persist.

In 1970, Melvin Van Peebles, who had finished Watermelon Man for Columbia Pictures, contemplates his next film project. Peebles' talent agent Howie Kaufman advises him to follow up with a comedy. After brainstorming in the Mojave Desert, Pebbles outlines his vision for the film, which includes that the film must be entertaining, commercially viable, and represents the Black community.

Titling his project Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Peebles sends a story treatment to Kaufman who questions the story's anti-police themes. Peebles' friend Bill Harris agrees to arrange the financing but declines Peebles' request to have the unionized film crew be 50 percent Black. Sometime later, Peebles watches an adult film produced by Clyde Houston. At an ADR session, Houston agrees to join the film as a production manager. Harris finds one investor named Bert, who agrees to finance the film. However, Peebles withdraws from the offer after Bert exposes himself near his house pool.

At a nightclub, Peebles and Harris meet Donovan, a hippie, who agrees to finance the film. On the studio lot, Peebles auditions several actors for the title role. Despite not being hired, Peebles hires them for supporting acting roles. He later hires "Big T", a crew member who works as the sound assistant and head of security. Peebles' secretary Priscilla, who has turned every situation into an audition, is given a role in the film. When Peebles has assembled his crew, he learns Donovan has been arrested, which threatens the production that has only raised over $72,000. Before filming begins, Peebles casts himself in the lead role. Priscilla however decides to back out of production because her boyfriend does not approve. She is recast by Ginnie, whom Peebles had met at Donovan's party.

Deciding to go independent, Peebles tricks the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) into believing the film is a porno. To save on cost, Peebles films certain scenes on 16 mm and casts his son Mario in the film. This causes an argument with Sandra, Peebles' girlfriend, who finds Mario's participation in the film to be inappropriate. On set, Priscilla's boyfriend Maurice White asks Peebles to compose the score to help promote his then-unknown group Earth, Wind & Fire.

As filming continues, Peebles learns his production crew have been arrested for alleged grand theft. To help finish the picture, Bill Cosby loans $50,000, which Peebles partially uses to help bail out his crew members. With three days left, "Big T" threatens to leave the production, but Peebles convinces him to stay because of the film's potential significance to the community. During post-production, Harris hires an editor, and Earth, Wind & Fire records the soundtrack. While editing, Peebles receives a threatening phone call, demanding their loans be repaid immediately. Under immense pressure, Peebles disregards his eye infection, and finishes the final cut.

Peebles tries to sell the film to distributors, but they decline. Kaufman arranges Peebles to meet with Jerry Gross of Cinemation Industries, who initially cautions about marketing the film. Gross eventually agrees to distribute, and Peebles meets with twin theater owners, Manny and Mort Goldberg. They agree to screen the film but it fails to find an audience. Before they pull the film, participants of the Black Panther Party arrive to see the film. Before long, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song becomes the highest-grossing independent film of 1971, and the soundtrack becomes a success.

Cast

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Reception

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The film received mostly positive reviews. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 91% of 109 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "An entertaining and intriguing tribute to a father from his son."[2] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[3] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times named it one of the best films of the year.[4] Baadasssss! was nominated for several "best of" Independent Spirit and NAACP Image awards for 2005, including best feature, director, actor and screenplay.[5][6] It was listed in the African-American Film Critics Association's top-ten films of 2004[7] and won best feature film at the 2004 Philadelphia Film Festival.[8] However, the film ended up being a commercial failure, making less than $400,000 at the box office during its limited theatrical release.[1] Leonard Maltin lists the movie in his book 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen and he writes "Mario Van Peebles has written, directed, and starred in a number of films over the years but this is his most personal piece of work-and I think his best."[9]

Awards and nominations

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2004 Gijón International Film Festival
2004 Philadelphia Film Festival[8]
  • Best Feature Film – Mario Van Peebles (winner)
2005 Black Reel Awards[10]
  • Best Actor, Drama – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
  • Best Director – Mario Van Pebbles (winner)
  • Best Film, Drama (nominated)
  • Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Mario Van Peebles (winner)
  • Best Supporting Actress – Joy Bryant (nominated)
20th Independent Spirit Awards[5]
  • Best Director – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
  • Best Feature – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
  • Best Screenplay – Dennis Haggerty, Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
36th NAACP Image Awards[6]
  • Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
  • Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film (nominated)

Soundtrack

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A soundtrack album was released by the label Barely Breaking Even.[11]

BAADASSSSS! Soundtrack
Soundtrack album by
Various Artists
ReleasedJune 1, 2004
GenreFilm soundtrack
Length71:23
LabelBarely Breaking Even
No.TitlePerformer(s)Length
1."No Crew Has Ever Looked Like This (Dialogue)" 0:17
2."Main Title Score"Baadasssss! Band4:23
3."Breaking The Rules (Dialogue)" 0:09
4."Groove Me"King Floyd2:57
5."Get Down"War4:25
6."It's About A Brotha' (Dialogue)" 0:18
7."Lumumba"Miriam Makeba2:43
8."Just Do It" (featuring Pharoahe Monch)Pete Rock4:26
9."Gettin' the Man's Foot Outta' Your Ass"Black Panther Fugitives6:18
10."Back Up (Dialogue)" 0:27
11."Cou Cou"Zap Mama4:10
12."Che Che Cole Makossa" (featuring Myra Vega)Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra4:03
13."Jeanie, It's Mel (Dialogue)" 0:50
14."I Came But..."Zuco 1033:46
15."Love"Donn2:48
16."How Much? (Dialogue)" 0:41
17."Sweetback's Theme"Melvin Van Peebles2:49
18."Lil' Money"Eric Roberson4:22
19."Green and Gold"Rob Ayers4:49
20."I'll Make You A Bet (Dialogue)" 0:30
21."Father and Son"Baadasssss! Band0:58
22."Caught in the Hustle"Immortal Technique3:42
23."Soul Brothers"Baadasssss! Band2:37
24."Look Around"Jean Grae4:49
25."Inspiration Walk"Baadasssss! Band4:06

References

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  1. ^ a b Baadasssss!, Release Date: May 28, 2004 Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Total Domestic Gross, Box Office Mojo. Retrieved on January 5, 2016.
  2. ^ Baadasssss! Archived 2011-02-19 at the Wayback Machine on Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on December 2, 2022.
  3. ^ Baadasssss! Archived 2022-12-02 at the Wayback Machine, Metacritic, May 28, 2004. Retrieved on December 2, 2022.
  4. ^ Ebert, Roger (June 11, 2004). "Baadasssss! movie review & film summary (2004)". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
  5. ^ a b ""Sideways" and "Maria Full of Grace" Lead Spirit Award Nominations". IndieWire. December 1, 2004. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Vivica A. FOX , Omar Epps, Hill Harper, Essence Atkins and Ananda Lewis Join Naacp Executives to Announce the '36th Naacp Image Awards' Nominations". The Futon Critic. January 19, 2005. Archived from the original on July 7, 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  7. ^ "BLACK FILM CRITICS CHOOSE 'RAY': Jamie Foxx Honored With Special Achievement Award". TheBWP.com. January 2, 2005. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Scott, Tracy L. (September 12, 2004). "Film Both 'Sweet' and 'Baad!'". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Maltin, Leonard (2010). 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen. HarperCollins. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-06-173234-8.
  10. ^ "2005 Awards". Black Reel Awards. Archived from the original on November 25, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
  11. ^ Baadasssss! (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) Archived 2021-02-23 at the Wayback Machine, Discogs, 2004
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