In 1971, Melvin Van Peebles wrote, directed, produced and starred in Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a gritty, raw independent movie that's widely credited as the inspiration for the blaxploitation film movement of the '70s. Now his son, Mario, writes, directs, produces and stars in Baadasssss!, an insightful and entertaining look into the making of his father's groundbreaking film.
Mario stars as Melvin, and gives the kind of performance only a son playing his father could give, portraying the elder Van Peebles as driven, visionary and charismatic, but also as arrogant, hot-tempered and emotionally unavailable, especially in his treatment of women and a young Mario (Khleo Thomas).
It's Mario's willingness to show his father as a flawed, three-dimensional person that drives Baadasssss!, and the film's depiction of the hurdles Melvin jumped to make his groundbreaking film provides insight into the birth of both blaxploitation and the independent film movement of the '70s.
After making a splash with his 1991 debut, New Jack City, Mario's directing career has slowly slid into straight-to-video purgatory, even as he's established himself as a reliable character actor. Baadasssss! should put him back in the spotlight in both regards, and its mix of historical insight and pure, root-for-the-underdog entertainment deserves every moment it can get in that spotlight.