Bamboozled (2000)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee (written by)

Release Date:

20 October 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Tagline:

Starring the great negroe actors

Plot:

A frustrated African American TV writer proposes a blackface minstrel show in protest, but to his chagrin it becomes a hit.

Plot Keywords:

Minstrel Show | Blackface | Television | Satire | African American

Awards:

1 win & 6 nominations

Cast

Damon Wayans	...	Pierre Delacroix
Savion Glover	...	Manray / Mantan
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Sloan Hopkins (as Jada Pinkett-Smith)
Tommy Davidson	...	Womack / Sleep'n Eat
Michael Rapaport	...	Thomas Dunwitty
Thomas Jefferson Byrd	...	Honeycutt
Paul Mooney	...	Junebug
Sarah Jones	...	Dot
Gillian Iliana Waters	...	Verna
Susan Batson	...	Orchid Dothan
Mos Def	...	Mau Mau: Big Blak Afrika (Julius Hopkins)
M.C. Serch	...	Mau Mau: 1 / 16th Blak (as MC Serch)
Gano Grills	...	Mau Mau: Double Blak
Canibus	...	Mau Mau: Mo Blak
DJ Scratch	...	Mau Mau: Jo Blak

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and some violence.

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Finland:K-15 | USA:R (certificate #37684) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | France:U | Germany:16 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

New Line Cinema

Trivia:

At the end of the film where the rap group The Mau Maus get shot and killed in a shootout with police and the only survivor was the only white member of the group, was based on a true account from the early '90s where a California street gang was also in a shootout with police. Instead, there were two survivors, both were also white. One had been shot in the leg but he lived.

Quotes:

Pierre Delacroix: The mission was accomplished. All of these people left the room thinking they would have real input. I was writing this pilot alone. Myself. Me. Moi.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in My Big Fat Independent Movie (2005)

Soundtrack:

(I Wish I Was in) Dixie's Land

Great satire, very misunderstood

The film "Bamboozled" has caught a lot of heat for it's portrayal of blackface (an issue that wasn't really talked about until the release of "Bamboozled") Writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) sees his pitches for TV shows being rejected one after another. He is upset with his job and his boss Thomas Dunwitty (Mike Rappaport) He is under contract, he cannot quit because he will be sued. So he decides to get himself fired. He plans on reviving blackface and hopes that it'll be so controversial that CNS will be under fire and he'll get fired. He recruits two street performers Manray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson) and pitches the show to his boss. The show gets green lighted, but unfortunately it becomes a big hit and destroys his whole plan. Spike got some heat for this (mainly because he criticized previous films for the way blacks are shown, then he made a film with blackface) But what people don't understand is that this is a satire. The images of rappers and "Timmi Hillnigger" are all poking fun at today's society. "Bamboozled" is clever and one of Spike's most explosive films next to "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X". This film has Tommy Davidson performing in blackface, in a very funny routine. I wanted to laugh but at the same time it made me think. This sketch was making me laugh at every stereotype about my people that I hated. That was the smart thing about "Bamboozled", it caught you in the act of doing something and made you think. "Bamboozled" is a well thought, mentally challenging film that'll change your life.

Bamboozled- rated R **** out of ****