Baadasssss!

R

Released Sep 7, 2003

1 hr. 48 min.

Drama

List

91%

109 Reviews

Tomatometer

84%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Director Mario Van Peebles chronicles the complicated production of his father Melvin's classic 1971 film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." Playing his father in the film, Van Peebles offers an unapologetic account of Melvin's brash and sometimes deceptive conduct on the set of the film, including questionable antics like writing bad checks, tricking a local fire department and allowing his son, Mario, to shoot racy sex scenes at the age of 11.

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Critics Consensus

An entertaining and intriguing tribute to a father from his son.

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Audience Member

An homage of reverence, an almost mythic biography, and yet a terrific (in many ways superior) creation, an essential companion piece yet standing on its own—the son becoming father to the man, and a brother getting the Man's foot out of his ass.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Seriously watch this!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Entretenida película de esas que cuentan una historia de la vida real, con personajes muy humanos a los que se pueden amar y odiar al mismo tiempo.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

brandon w

Baad*bleep* is a great film that respects what the director's father has done. It has a great story, and really does make you wonder if it was going to be in theaters even though you already know what was the result of it. The acting is great, it's got funny moments although not much, and it really shows the hard work about what his father has been through for making an important film. I didn't really care much for the beginning, but it started to win me over with the middle and end. It kept me interested, and when I thought they got through it, there's another turn that they have to fix which makes it unpredictable. Baad*bleep* had left me entertained, and it's disappointing that it didn't made a lot of money.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Very good movie about the struggles of making an all black cast movie with a mixed race film crew backed partially by Bill Cosby. This film led to blaxploitation movies that were prevelant in the 70's. Not quite a documentary, but still was supposed to show some of the behind the scenes of what occurred.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A wonderful biopic about a very intriguing story. It was very interesting to learn about this movie and the movie it was portraying the making of.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

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Mario Van Peebles

Director

Mario Van Peebles

Melvin Van Peebles

Joy Bryant

Priscilla

Terry Crews

Big T

Ossie Davis

Granddad

David Alan Grier

Clyde Houston

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Empire Magazine

Rated: 2/5

Jun 25, 2005

Full Review

David Denby

New Yorker

It's an exhausting, and exhaustingly pleasurable, entertainment.

Aug 1, 2004

Full Review

Marjorie Baumgarten

Austin Chronicle

Seethes with well-targeted humor that mixes comfortably with its simmering energy and anger.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 3, 2004

Full Review

Kaleem Aftab

The List

[An] enjoyable docu-romp... Sadly, there's neither enough first-hand evidence from Van Peebles Sr. himself nor sufficient social historical perspective for Baadasssss to make the leap from being a good documentary to a great one.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 24, 2019

Full Review

Deborah Hornblow

Hartford Courant

Audiences unfamiliar with "Sweetback'' can enjoy and understand the story chronicled in "Baadasssss!,'' but the experience is infinitely richer if you have seen the film that inspired it.

Rated: 3/5

Jan 2, 2018

Full Review

Felix Vasquez Jr.

Cinema Crazed

This is excellent and well worth the watch for any artist.

Sep 22, 2013

Full Review

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Synopsis

Director Mario Van Peebles chronicles the complicated production of his father Melvin's classic 1971 film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." Playing his father in the film, Van Peebles offers an unapologetic account of Melvin's brash and sometimes deceptive conduct on the set of the film, including questionable antics like writing bad checks, tricking a local fire department and allowing his son, Mario, to shoot racy sex scenes at the age of 11.

Director: Mario Van Peebles
Executive Producer: Michael Mann, Jerry Offsay
Screenwriter: Mario Van Peebles, Mario Van Peebles
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Bad Aaas Cinemas, Showtime Networks Inc.
Rating: R (Some Strong Sexuality|Pervasive Language|Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 7, 2003, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 10, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $365.2K
Sound Mix: Surround

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