BAMBOOZLED (2000)
Reviewed by Jerry Saravia
Spike Lee's spectacular new film, "Bamboozled," is likely to cause heaps of protest from audience members, particularly blacks. The idea that minstrel shows can cause more laughter now than they used to, as long as blacks are shown to be buffoons and outright caricatures, shows that America may not have changed much since the days of "Amos n' Andy." And Spike Lee knows it all too well.
Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) is the only black executive at a New York cable network that needs to save itself from drastically low ratings. One day, Delacroix comes up with an outrageous concept - a minstrel show called "Mantan the New Millenium Minstrel Show." Basically, the show will focus on two dimwitted, nineteenth century cotton plantation workers ("Alabama porch monkeys") who joke and dance each week in front of a live studio audience. Pierre finds his two lucky actors in the form of a homeless dancer (Savion Glover) as the main character Mantan, and the dancer's friend (Tommy Davidson) as Sleep N' Eat - these two have been auditioning for Pierre in the past in front of his office building and now they have the shot at stardom. When Pierre presents his concept to his white boss, Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport), the boss becomes overwhelmed with glee. The only one miffed at the concept is Pierre's workaholic assistant, Sloan Hopkins (Jada Pinkett Smith).
Naturally, Pierre expects this show to fail miserably (in the real world, it would not have gone further than the pitch) and, ironically, it becomes a huge controversial success. Think of Mel Brooks' "The Producers" meets "Network," with some jarring, uneven jabs at advertising, especially Tommy Hilfiger, its most pointed jab. The show becomes such a success that Pierre becomes immersed in it himself, keeping grinning, red-lipped, buffoonish statues of blacks from the heyday of a forgotten era in his office. But is such an era really far behind, or do we still, in effect, have minstrel shows today? Are white and black audiences more receptive to African-American stereotypes that we can laugh at as in "The Nutty Professor II" (the original one, ironically, starred Jada Pinkett) or Martin Lawrence in "Big Momma's House" than to films like "Beloved" or "Amistad," which focus on slavery?
When Spike Lee focuses on such issues, "Bamboozled" becomes a lacerating, powerful film - how do these black actors feel about putting on blackface? Unfortunately, as in "Jungle Fever," Lee tends to focus on characters that are less remarkable and thus, distract from its intended message. The scenes of the rappers, who contemplate on how other rappers are not getting the recognition they deserve, recalls similar scenes of the Panthers in "Network" and they do not work very well in Lee's context of racial profiling. I was more interested in Pierre and Sloan, and how they felt about their guilt in the face of success. All this ends rather crudely and abruptly with violence and hysteria that, once again, recalls "Network." The difference is that "Network" was leading to an inevitable conclusion where violence on television would result in higher ratings. Here, it is too tidy a solution, I think, whereas a grander subplot about how audiences relate to such material would have been preferred, and how these actors feel about their televised act to an audience that even wears blackface to honor the show's characters!
The performances are quixotic, as always in a Lee film. Damon Wayans is perfectly restrained as Pierre, using his hands as if they were magic wands - his reaction to the madness he has created is clearly felt in the final scenes. Jada Pinkett Smith is also alluring, smart, and energetic as Sloan, who sees far beyond the show's concept than anyone else in the film. I also enjoyed the touching performances by Glover and Davidson, two actors caught in the haelstorm of success, the latter more cognizant of the effect it has on his own well-being.
I kept thinking of one film that dealt with similar issues, and that was Robert Townshend's smartly satirical "Hollywood Shuffle." Townshend's film does it with more grace and style, whereas Lee's film is angry and bites us like a junkyard dog. The end of "Bamboozled" features a moving collage of cinematic racial stereotypes, from "High Society" to Al Jolson in "The Jazz Singer." If Lee inserted clips from the gangsta rappers of today or Eddie Murphy, his point would have been made about minstrel shows still existing today. "Bamboozled" is too fractured and blunt to really score (and has a rather muddy look due to being filmed on digital video), but it does make you reflect on how race is portrayed in the media in today's world.
