Bamboozled
by Spike Lee
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DVD details
Actor: Damon Wayans, Jada Pinkett Smith, Michael Rapaport, Savion Glover, Tommy DavidsonDirector: Spike Lee
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Ellen Kuras
Producer: Spike Lee
Writer: Spike Lee
Editor: Samuel D. Pollard
Producer: Jon Kilik
Producer: Kisha Imani Cameron
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 135 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-17
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: New Line Cinema
DVD Reviews of Bamboozled
DVD Review: Not racist, but real
Summary: 4 Stars
As a homage to such Hollywood movie classics as "A Face In The Crowd", the original version of "The Producers" and "Network", I understand completely what message Spike Lee conveyed in this film, and for the most part, I agree with it. He brings up the uncomfortable subject of negative images of blacks in television, past and present, and just how the media seeks to capitalize on it. The film centers on the uptight, upwardly-mobile Damon Wayans character, Pierre Delacroix (aka Peerless Dothan), who is a successful black television executive that has completely lost touch with his roots. After being berated by his boss and being threatened being fired if he fails to come up with a hit TV show, on purpose, he creates an outrageously offensive and stereotypical TV minstrel show with actors, dancers and musicians all in blackface as a joke, in order to break his contract with the network he works for - all of this so he won't have to worry about being sued if he quits. The show is supposed to initially mock the negative images of blacks, and to make people angry enough to have it pulled from the air, and get Pierre fired - but to his surprize, it turns out to be a massive hit.
Pierre is at first perplexed at this but then revels in the fact that this was something that was his creation - and having a moralistic viewpoint doesn't seem to matter much any more. After receiving all types of accolades, success eventually goes to his head. From then on, Pierre totally sells out and doesn't seem to have any remorse about exploiting the sad history of blacks in America. In fact, he thinks it's rather amusing...he basically puts out the message that we need to "get over" these things, these images, and take a humorous look at them, and move on. (Imagine telling the Jews to "get over" the Holocaust, take a humorous look at it and move on. I guess someone tried to do that years ago - remember the TV show "Hogan's Heroes"? Still didn't make the Holocaust or concentration camps very funny to Jews.) Pierre's getting paid and all is good in his world...until he gets a wake up call later in the film.
Back in the day, "Amos and Andy", Stepin Fetchit, Buckwheat, and racist films like D.W. Griffith's "Birth of a Nation" perpetuated American blacks in the worst possible way. In fact, the last few minutes of the film shows clips from these films and these characters, and this is powerful in itself. Those images have been permanently burned into the minds of people all over the world, and we are still feeling the effects today. There are folks in the world whose only view of the behaviors and images of black people come through what they see in the media, and what they see does NOT represent black folk as a whole!
One of many points that Spike is making in "Bamboozled" is that the negative imagery of those characters are not just limited to those performers of yesteryear, but it has carried over to this generation as well -- specifically, some of those entertainers in today's hip-hop community, who are nothing more than modern-day minstrel performers because they are perpetuating blacks in their most negative light, and unfortunately this is what sells -- this is what is marketable. Look at almost any hip-hop video on BET and you will see a modern-day minstrel show...all that's missing are the performers in blackface. The psuedo-revolutionary, wannabe Public Enemy-like "Maus-Maus" in the film represent that demographic. In addition to saying we all love watermelon and fried chicken and we are an oversexed race who loves to sing and dance, and we are all slow-witted and lazy - now to add to these stereotypes are that we are all obsessed with crime, substance abuse and material things. Worse of all is that a lot of these performers don't even realize how detrimental the images are. Those who do are a lot like the Pierre character: they simply don't care. It's all about making a buck to them. The actors from back in the day didn't have a choice about the roles they were regulated to in the movies - but today, actors, singers, rappers AND yes, producers and directors, DO have a choice as to the kind of images they put out there for the world to see, and unfortunately, a lot of them make the wrong decision.
I enjoyed all the actors' performances. Damon as Pierre was okay, but I could have done without him trying TOO hard to sound like a man who is obviously educated -- or someone who "talks white", as some would say. Jada Pinkett Smith is more down to earth and is a welcome counterbalance to Damon's role - however, I had a hard time trying to figure out whether or not she was on Pierre's side until about three-quarters of the way through the film. Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson (in a surprisingly good dramatic role) are equally convincing in their roles as the blackface-wearing stars of Pierre's show. In the beginning, the two formally homeless street entertainers are thrilled to finally have someone take notice of their talents. Towards the end of the film, however, they wake up and smell the coffee and begin to realize the negativity of what they are doing. Michael Rapaport's character as Thomas Dunwitty, the head honcho at the network that Pierre works for is REALLY annoying, but it's a role that is amazingly effective. He's the so-called cool white guy who is thinks he is "down" with the black community because he has a black wife, and feels he can say anything about blacks and get a "ghetto pass", but he reveals himself to be just as racist as any member of the KKK. Paul Mooney was excellent in his all-too-short role as Pierre's father. Cameo appearances include Matthew Modine, Mira Sorvino, Johnny Cochran, Rev. Al Sharpton and the late Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, from the successful '90s trio, TLC.
"Bamboozled" was an excellent title, because just about EVERYONE in this movie is fooled into thinking this show is one thing, when in reality, it's something else. I feel that Spike Lee can still make relevant films about race, and this film certainly is one of them. But it seemed to me that he really did not know how to wrap up the movie, and it starts to unravel during the last half hour or so, so that's why I docked it one star. For me, "Bamboozled" could be called one of Spike's greatest films if it weren't for how it ended. But overall, I respect him for taking on a subject like this. Yes, it's harsh, over the top, and right in your face. But it's not racist. It's reality, and I guess that what makes so many people uncomfortable. Well done, Spike!!
Sidenote: Another film on this very same topic is "Dancing In September" - definitely a must-see if you like "Bamboozled".
Description of Bamboozled
Spike Lee directs this sizzling satire on race and racism within the modern media world. Starring Damon Wayons (Major Payne TV's In Living Color) and Jada Pinkett-Smith (Set It Off Scream 2 The Nutty Professor)Running Time: 136 min.System Requirements:Starring: Damon Wayans Jada Pinkett-Smith Michael Rapaport Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover. Directed By: Spike Lee. Running Time: 136 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 Warner Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 794043519727Director Spike Lee has never shied away from controversy, and with Bamboozled he tackles a thorny mix of racism and how images are bought and sold. A frustrated TV writer named Delacroix (Damon Wayans), unable to break his contract, tries to get fired by proposing a new minstrel show, complete with dancers in blackface. But the network loves the idea, and Delacroix hires two street performers (Savion Glover, who is truly the finest tap dancer since Fred Astaire, and Tommy Davidson) whose hunger for success and ignorance of history combine to make them accept the blackface. Despite protests, the show is a huge success--but gradually, the mental balance of everyone involved starts to crumble. As an argument, Bamboozled is incoherent--but how can racism be discussed rationally in the first place? Lee takes a much braver approach: Every time something seems to make sense or make a point, he complicates the situation. At one point, Delacroix goes to see his father, a standup comedian working at a small black club. Delacroix perceives his father as a broken failure. But his father's routine is full of articulate critiques of white hypocrisy, and the older man describes refusing to play the narrow movie roles that Hollywood had offered him, while Delacroix has convinced himself that his minstrel show is actually doing some social good. And what is the effect of the show itself? Lee obviously finds blackface abhorrent, but the minstrel routines are perversely fascinating and Glover's dancing, even when he mimics Amos and Andy-era routines, is outstanding. Most cuttingly, Lee points out parallels between minstrel and contemporary hip-hop personas. By the time it's over, Bamboozled won't have told you what to think, but you will have to think about these issues--and that alone is a remarkable accomplishment. --Bret Fetzer
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