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:

Gangsta Rap | Gangster Rap | Breaking The Fourth Wall | African American | Racism

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

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #37684) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Finland:K-15 | 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:

The two award ceremony scenes are parodies of two real award recipients whom Spike Lee has publicly criticized: the first, where DelaCroix is fumbling around and yelling "Show me the money!", is a jab at Cuba Gooding Jr.'s enthusiastic victory speech for winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor; the second scene, in which DelaCroix becomes a teary-eyed brown-noser to Matthew Modine, is a shot at Ving Rhames' Golden Globe victory in which he gave teary-eyed kudos to Jack Lemmon.

Quotes:

Pierre Delacroix: Feed the idiot box. Feed the idiot box.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Just a Song

Lee's best film...

This is Lee's best film. It isn't heavy handed despite the explosive topic. In fact I would argue that the images in this film are less offensive then some of the depiction of African-American life seen on MTV or BET. Less heavy handed then some of the vulgar depiction of my community that is allowed to be foisted on my community as entertainment. The modern minstrels show can be seen any night of the week on America's cable music networks. Which is more embarrassing Lil'John, 50 cent or Mantan? Which has had a bigger impact on the daily lives of African-American children, images of Step- N-Fetch it or Lil'John? Which are the stereotypes that are used to justify racial profiling in the larger public of the country in 2006, Gangstas or minstrels performers? It is a film about the power and responsibility of black America to control the images that define it.

I think Lee for the first time in a long time had a story he actually wanted to tell. The script was solid if not great. As usual Spike had a tough time with his female characters. The women in his films tend to be two dimensional. All good or all bad. It wasn't a perfect film but I think it will be remembered as one of Spike's most interesting.