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Bamboozled
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Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Damon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, Jada Pinkett, Savion Jones
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Spike Lee has made a name for himself aligning controversial issues with hard-hitting storylines and Bamboozled, a satire about a black writer in the white-dominated world of American network TV, is no exception. But in his lampooning of the television industry, Lee overreaches himself and this baffling film poses more questions than he can answer.
Damon Wayans is Pierre Delacroix, a Harvard educated screenwriter as mannered
and bombastic as his name. Disillusioned with the business and given an ultimatum
to create a hit show by his white ghetto-boy boss (Michael Rapaport), Delacroix
pitches a concept so offensive he hopes it will get him fired. The idea: "Mantan,
The New Millennium Minstrel Show," a spoof vaudevillian act featuring black-face
minstrels, mammys, Uncle Toms and a house band called the Alabama Porch
Monkeys. To Delacroix's horror, not only does the network love the show, Mantan
is a runaway success with the audiences. So far, so satiric.
But Bamboozled descends into an incoherent and pontificating mess during unnecessarily extended sequences of the vaudeville show and a bizarre
subplot involving a direct action vigilante rap group called the Mau Maus.
As a dramatic narrative it fails on nearly every level, an effect exacerbated by
Lee's decision to film on digital video, which emphasises the disjointed, uneven effect.
Damon Wayans doesn't help either. His ironic performance, all nasal voice
and pontificating "Pray tell, Negro", soon grates. But one theory has it
that Lee, a director not known for his communication skills with performers,
deliberately gave Wayans no direction simply to watch him suffer. Why?
Bamboozled is, to some extent, a parody of In Living Color, a variety comedy show in which Wayans starred and which Lee actively despised. Is Bamboozled Lee's revenge on Wayans for his earlier sins? If this is Lee's idea of a joke, he's the only one laughing.
Somewhere along the way - abandoning the camera for the soapbox - Lee loses
the power to parody. Carried away with ramming the message home, he provides
voice-over definitions of "satire" and "irony" (just to make sure his
audience understands) and uses the Mau Maus as an inane example of those
seeking revolution without any idea of what they're rebelling against.
It's not all bad. The mock advertisements for 'Da Bomb' alcohol and 'Tommy
Hillnigger' jeans are a treat, even for audiences ignorant of Lee's own endless
line of Nike adverts. All characters and corporations are equally culpable, Lee seems to be saying, and he's neither discriminating nor leaving himself out of the dock. Added to this, Delacroix's growing collection of collectable black curios as well as Lee's use of an extended montage of historical footage of black entertainers - however haphazardly edited together - have the power to speak for themselves.
In the final analysis, Lee's script leaves the motivations and political
stance of his characters ambiguous at best: they all, at some point, betray
their own ideology. This confusing and angry film only serves to remind us
of the past without providing any options for the future. And from someone
of Lee's capabilities and stature, I'm not sure that's good enough.
Reviewed by Monika Maurer
Reader comments about Bamboozled
Ian Haydn Smith (ihsmith@yahoo.co.uk) writes:
Flawed though 'Bamboozled' is, it is hardly the unmitigated disaster Monika Maurer claims it to be. Agreed, it is overlong, frequently - and annoyingly - didactic, and often less funny than it believes it is. But, it is also an emotionally charged piece of filmmaking and a genuine attempt by a director who seems to have found his second wind, to approach the process of filmmaking in an uncharacteristically experimental way. As a result, the film's flaws are less important than what Lee set out to do, no matter how unsuccessfully he does it.As for the claims made about 'Living Color', I am in no doubt it is one of the film's reference points. However, Sidney Lumet's 'Network' strikes me as a hugely important influence over the film. From the war of ratings through to the armed assault by the Mau Mau's, 'Bamboozled' bears all the characteristics of Lumet's admittedly superior satire. I am surprised that this went by unnoticed in the review. As for Damon Wyan's performance. Though occasionally grating, it does follow the trajectory of ‘Network’s’ messianic Howard Beale; that of a sane man driven insane by the powers that be. As such, I hardly believe that Lee set out to humiliate Wyans through non-direction, and risking the effectiveness of such a personal project. At a time when political filmmaking is seen to be out-of-fashion, unless compromised to avoid causing offence (‘The Contender’, ‘Primary Colours’), it is gratifying to see one of the most important American directors of the last twenty years making a film which leaves no issue untouched. A mess it may be, but 'Bamboozled' displays moments of genius and tackles a subject that has long deserved attention.
(*_*)Mz-Glitter-Honey(*_*) (Mzglitter@hotmail.com) writes:
Bamboozled is a MUST SEE! Spike Lee brillantly forces the film's audience to ask an important question. At whose expense does entertainment fulfill it's purpose, which is to make money as it satisfies the general public? Lee, in part, answers this question with a focus on one minority group, Blacks.Damon Wayans delivers a compelling performance through his character Pierre. Pierre's inner conflict is amazingly tangible as he struggles with his obligation to contribute to racial stereotyping via his television creation, "Mantan, The New Millennium Minstrel Show." Furthermore, the identification with Pierre's struggle is consecutive and simultaneous to those watching the film. I was priviledged to see the film on opening night in a Brooklyn, Ny theatre. At the begining of the film, the very racially diverse audience was laughing hysterically at the horrific stereotpyes of African-Americans. By the middle of the film, the audience failed to find the humor in Pierre's "Minstrel Show," and by the end of the film, the entire theatre was silent as they became overwhelmed by a disgust for our ability to tolerate racism in an industry that is dependent upon our approval. Bamboozled notes both present and historical film/television in two short hours. This summary of "entertainment" is inevitably uncomfortable, but necessary. If you've seen the film, and the only depth you found to the movie lay in the references to "Da Bomb" and "Tommy Hillnigger" then you need to return to primary school where you can retake that metaphors class. Granted, you may find the metaphors to be over your head if you're the average movie goer (who is ban-wagonly moved by shallow plots and big-budget special effects), otherwise the symbolism is relatively easy to follow. For those that have been offended by our long history of mistrelism in enterainment, they will find the imagery in Lee's masterpiece to be socially relevant. Bamboozled is anything but a joke. It is a bold attempt to confront our tolerance for racism. If we were sickened and appalled at the content of the film and its creation of minstrels, then we must acknowledge the eloquence of Spike Lee's piece. How could Spike Lee achieve in 136 minutes what industry leaders have failed to do in almost an entire century? Bamboozled is easily the best, most important film of Lee's career.
Laura (lovelylaura34@hotmail.com) writes:
A truly mesmerizing piece of current day cinematography. The sheer brilliance of Spike Lee's poinent direction is seen once more in this 'new millenium' attack on prejudice and racial attitudes within the US entertainment industry. Fantastically compelling performances delivered from the movies central protagonist played by Damon Wayans and his partner in crime Jada Pinkett. A hardhitting, compelling and hugely thought provoking piece which really does question the nature of 21st century society and it's attitudes to ethnicity, cultural diversity and racism. A must see movie for anyone with a willingness to exercise an opinion and for those people ready to have their ethical view point on race related issues pushed far bejond the boundaries of conventional, modern day cinema. GET OUT THERE AND SEE IT NOW!
moses kibuuka muwanga (kibuuka@hotmail.com) writes:
True so true Dam true. Heaven help us and god bless spike lee.
Glenna Diggs (henilove53@hotmail.com) writes:
I truthfully haven't seen Bamboozled, but I think Spike Lee is an amazing writer. I also love the movie his wife, Gina Prince wrote. I am actually working on my own movie now. Since I am seventeen a lot of people are not taking me seriously when I talk about my movie, but I am a screenwriter/actress/directer and I am more than good at all three. Therefore, nothing will stop me from completing my movie and bringing it to hollywood. If I never give up and always keep faith. If you have any question about it or are interested in it, please contact me.
gg mabeling (Email address withheld) writes:
a thrilling piece of work from the mastermind Spike Lee, this movie is truly groundbreaking. Though seemingly a cognative perception of racism, it is simply a figment of the viewer's imagination. Therein lies the true meaning behind Dela's blackface variety show, in which the viewer is taken on a wildly funny romp through the history of racism in the late 18th/early 19th century. Though many characters resume faith that Dela with ultimately throw away his collection of racist Jim Crow-era toys, especially the coin bank of a black man eating a penny, we find the toys actually come to life and destroy him! It is sidesplitingly sad.
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