The concept behind BAADASSSSSS! was to have the audience feel like some unseen camera crew had followed Melvin around shooting a Athe making of SWEETBACK@ and interviewing the cast and crew.  After watching SWEETBACK, I feel it should be a prerequisite to BAADASSSSSS! to even attempt to understand the correlation between the two movies, - it became a double vision of a double vision.  Original scenes from SWEETBACK were used throughout BAADASSSSS! which would confuse someone who never saw it, not that the movie wasn’t confusing enough on its own.  The first half of the movie was something out of a coked out Quentin Tarantino film - switching between black and white images to heavenly angelic scenes mixed with graphic orgies of eroticism - and it was hard to follow, let alone appreciate.  There was a lack of continuity between scenes in the beginning which should have run parallel to Melvin’s (as played by Mario) frustration as a self-destructing writer/director. 

To understand the significance of the making of SWEETBACK (and that’s about all you can understand in this movie) you have to understand the political context in which Melvin had to act.  Melvin filled a void in what was really happening on the streets compared to Hollywood’s surrealist portrayal of minorities on the screen.

There were a multitude of great actors and actresses in this movie.  Mario Van Pebbles playing his father AMelvin@ was great and undoubtedly meaningful to the actor.  After viewing SWEETBACK, it was clear that there could not have been anyone else for the role.  He’s the spitting image of his father, which made the movie Acome more to life@.  On the other hand, it seems as if Mario tried too hard to play his father to the hilt, but given the graphic and explicit scenes in nudity and language, it really doesn’t matter.  The nudity scenes were bizarre and explicit.  The excessive explicit language used was more offensive in 2004 than it would have been in 1971.  Mario used more explicit language than his father did in 1971, which I felt could have been downplayed.  It was disturbing to be constantly barraged with a one two punch of offensive language followed by abhorrent imagery.  David Alan Grier (Jumanji), who plays a csript supervisor,  is always funny without even opening his mouth.  Even if his role is a dramatic or serious role, you will have the tendency to laugh at his character.   Nia (Friday) Long, an excellent actress, is miscast as Melvin’s girlfriend, Sandra.  She was more suited for this role than Halle Berry was in AMonster’s Ball@ so I guess you never know. Halle did win an Oscar, maybe Nia could win one, but not for this performance.  Joy Bryant, who plays APriscilla@, would have been more suited playing ASandra@ than Nia.  Joy has been a fashion model for many years and her acting skills are comparable to her modeling skills.  She definitely has talent.