It’s amazing that a film about the making of another film turns out better than the original film. SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG exploded into cinemas in 1971, starting on only two screens in the U.S. and becoming the highest grossing independent film of that year. Even more importantly, the film started the sub-genre of blaxploitation films. If there were no Sweetback; there wouldn’t have been a Super Fly or a Mack or even a Shaft.
Melvin Van Peebles will be remembered as the man who opened up America to a poor black man’s perspective as well as telling America that films with black heroes can be box office successes. And who better to tell Melvin’s story than his own son Mario.
What makes the film special is that it chronicles the filmmaking process from the initial idea through financing to filming to editing and then concluding with distribution. No film has looked at the whole process of making a film as this one has. The other thing that makes the film so special is that Mario plays his father with complete honesty. This isn’t a black or white portrayal. There is one section of the film that deals with Melvin’s insistence that a 12-year-old Mario (Khleo Thomas, HOLES) do a full nude sex scene with a woman more than twice his age that really opens a window into the mind of Melvin. Van Peebles’ performance as his father is totally convincing and serves as the soul of the film.
Though I didn’t totally like SWEET SWEETBACK’S, I couldn’t deny its power and its influence. BAADASSSSS! makes it so clear how passionate Melvin was about the film and even explains some of his choices better than the film does on its own. I didn’t finish watching this film and like SWEET SWEETBACK’S better, but I have much more respect for it.
This is a great film about an important film that came around at a turbulent time in U.S. history and changed things forever. This film will open your eyes to a time and place and show you what can come when an artist is driven by his convictions to make a statement with his art.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
