Baadasssss! is a 2003 Americanbiographicaldrama film, written, produced, directed by, and starringMario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' fatherMelvin Van Peebles (played by Mario himself), as he attempts to film and distributeSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showingHollywood that a viableAfrican-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of theblaxploitation genre. The film also starsJoy Bryant,Nia Long,Ossie Davis,Paul Rodriguez,Rainn Wilson, andTerry Crews.

Baadasssss!
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Mario Van Peebles
Written by	Mario Van Peebles Dennis Haggerty
Based on	Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto byMelvin Van Peebles
Produced by	Mario Van Peebles
Starring	Mario Van Peebles David Alan Grier Nia Long Rainn Wilson Terry Crews
Cinematography	Robert Primes
Edited by	Anthony Miller Nneka Goforth
Music by	Tyler Bates
Production companies	Bad Aaas Cinema MVP Films Showtime Independent Films
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics
Release dates	September 7, 2003 (2003-09-07) (Toronto International Film Festival) May 28, 2004 (2004-05-28)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$365,727[1]

A mock documentary opens the film with the actors (in character as the production crew members) reflecting on the tumultuous events of the 1960s. As theVietnam War continues, stereotypical depictions of Black Americans in cinema persist.

In 1970,Melvin Van Peebles, who had finishedWatermelon Man forColumbia Pictures, contemplates his next film project. Peebles' talent agent Howie Kaufman advises him to follow up with a comedy. After brainstorming in theMojave Desert, Peebles outlines his vision for the film, which includes that the film must be entertaining, commercially viable, and represent the Black community.

Titling his projectSweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Peebles sends astory treatment to Kaufman who questions the story's anti-police themes. Peebles' friend Bill Harris agrees to arrange the financing but declines Peebles' request to have the unionized film crew be 50 percent Black. Sometime later, Peebles watches an adult film produced by Clyde Houston. At anADR session, Houston agrees to join the film as a production manager. Harris finds one investor named Bert, who agrees to finance the film. However, Peebles withdraws from the offer after Bert exposes himself near his house pool.

At a nightclub, Peebles and Harris meet Donovan, a hippie, who agrees to finance the film. On the studio lot, Peebles auditions several actors for the title role. Despite not being hired, Peebles hires them for supporting acting roles. He later hires "Big T", a crew member who works as the sound assistant and head of security. Peebles' secretary Priscilla, who has turned every situation into an audition, is given a role in the film. When Peebles has assembled his crew, he learns Donovan has been arrested, which threatens the production that has only raised over $72,000. Before filming begins, Peebles casts himself in the lead role. Priscilla however decides to back out of production because her boyfriend does not approve. She is recast by Ginnie, whom Peebles had met at Donovan's party.

Deciding to go independent, Peebles tricks theScreen Actors Guild (SAG) into believing the film is aporno. To save on cost, Peebles films certain scenes on16 mm and casts his sonMario in the film. This causes an argument with Sandra, Peebles' girlfriend, who finds Mario's participation in the film to be inappropriate. On set, Priscilla's boyfriendMaurice White asks Peebles to compose the score to help promote his then-unknown groupEarth, Wind & Fire.

As filming continues, Peebles learns his production crew have been arrested for alleged grand theft. To help finish the picture,Bill Cosby loans $50,000, which Peebles partially uses to help bail out his crew members. With three days left, "Big T" threatens to leave the production, but Peebles convinces him to stay because of the film's potential significance to the community. During post-production, Harris hires an editor, and Earth, Wind & Fire records the soundtrack. While editing, Peebles receives a threatening phone call, demanding their loans be repaid immediately. Under immense pressure, Peebles disregards his eye infection, and finishes the final cut.

Peebles tries to sell the film to distributors, but they decline. Kaufman arranges Peebles to meet with Jerry Gross ofCinemation Industries, who initially cautions about marketing the film. Gross eventually agrees to distribute, and Peebles meets with twin theater owners, Manny and Mort Goldberg. They agree to screen the film but it fails to find an audience. Before they pull the film, participants of theBlack Panther Party arrive to see the film. Before long,Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song becomes the highest-grossing independent film of 1971, andthe soundtrack becomes a success.

• Mario Van Peebles asMelvin Van Peebles, Melvin (played by his real-life son, Mario)
  • Melvin as himself also appears in acameo.
• Adam West as Bert, one of the first investors Melvin meets to finance his film.
• David Alan Grier as Clyde Houston
• Glenn Plummer as Angry Brother
• John Singleton as "Detroit J"
• Joy Bryant as Priscilla, Melvin's young, ambitious secretary.
• Karimah Westbrook as Ginnie
• Khalil Kain asMaurice, Priscilla's boyfriend, and a member of the then-fledglingR&B groupEarth, Wind & Fire.
• Khleo Thomas asMario Van Peebles, who portrayed Sweetback as a child in the 1971 film.
• Len Lesser as Manny and Mort Goldberg, twin theater owners who agree to screen the film.
• Nia Long as Sandra, Melvin's girlfriend
• Ossie Davis as "Granddad", Melvin's grandfather who looks after his children and appears in a minor role.
• Paul Rodriguez as Jose Garcia, a Puerto Rican cameraman.
• Penny Bae Bridges as Megan Van Peebles, one of Melvin's children, acting in a minor role in the film.
• Rainn Wilson as Bill Harris, Melvin's friend who tries but fails to acquire financial backing for the film.
• Saul Rubinek as Howie Kaufman, Melvin's agent.
• Terry Crews as "Big T", crew member that acts as sound assistant and security for the crew.
• T. K. Carter asBill Cosby
  • Cosby as himself also appears in a cameo.
• Vincent Schiavelli as Jerry Gross, the founder ofCinemation Industries.
• Wesley Jonathan as aBlack Panther member.

The film received mostly positive reviews. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 91% of 109 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.4/10. The website's consensus reads: "An entertaining and intriguing tribute to a father from his son."^[2]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 75 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[3]Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times named it one of the best films of the year.^[4]Baadasssss! was nominated for several "best of"Independent Spirit andNAACP Image awards for 2005, including best feature, director, actor and screenplay.^[5][6] It was listed in theAfrican-American Film Critics Association'stop-ten films of 2004^[7] and won best feature film at the 2004 Philadelphia Film Festival.^[8] However, the film ended up being a commercial failure, making less than $400,000 at the box office during its limited theatrical release.^[1]Leonard Maltin lists the movie in his book151 Best Movies You've Never Seen and he writes "Mario Van Peebles has written, directed, and starred in a number of films over the years but this is his most personal piece of work-and I think his best."^[9]

2004 Gijón International Film Festival

• Best Feature –Mario Van Peebles (nominated)

2004 Philadelphia Film Festival^[8]

• Best Feature Film – Mario Van Peebles (winner)

2005 Black Reel Awards^[10]

• Best Actor, Drama – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
• Best Director – Mario Van Pebbles (winner)
• Best Film, Drama (nominated)
• Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted – Mario Van Peebles (winner)
• Best Supporting Actress –Joy Bryant (nominated)

20th Independent Spirit Awards^[5]

• Best Director – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
• Best Feature – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
• Best Screenplay – Dennis Haggerty, Mario Van Peebles (nominated)

36th NAACP Image Awards^[6]

• Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture – Mario Van Peebles (nominated)
• Outstanding Independent or Foreign Film (nominated)

A soundtrack album was released by the labelBarely Breaking Even.^[11]

• Official website
• Baadasssss! atIMDb
• Baadasssss! at theTCM Movie Database
• Baadasssss! at theAFI Catalog of Feature Films