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Bamboozled - New Line Platinum Series Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 40 Reviews)

Though tough to swallow, Bamboozled is a must see
The film "Bamboozled" has caught a lot of heat for it's portrayal of blackface (an issue that wasn't really talked about until the release of "Bamboozled") Writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) sees his pitches for TV shows being rejected one after another. He is upset with his job and his boss Thomas Dunwitty (Mike Rappaport) He is under contract, he cannot quit because he will be sued. So he decides to get himself fired. He plans on reviving blackface and hopes that it'll be so controversial that CNS will be under fire and he'll get fired. He recruits two street performers Manray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson) and pitches the show to his boss. The show gets green lighted, but unfortunately it becomes a big hit and destroys his whole plan. Spike got some heat for this (mainly because he criticized previous films for the way blacks are shown, then he made a film with blackface) But what people don't understand is that this is a satire. The images of rappers and "Timmi Hillnigger" are all poking fun at today's society. "Bamboozled" is clever and one of Spike's most explosive films next to "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X". This film has Tommy Davidson performing in blackface, in a very funny routine. I wanted to laugh but at the same time it made me think. This sketch was making me laugh at every stereotype about my people that I hated. That was the smart thing about "Bamboozled", it caught you in the act of doing something and made you think. "Bamboozled" is a well thought out film that is definetly for people that can fathom the images without going berserk.

Network Liason: "Mantan Manifesto...catchy isn't it?".....Pierre Delacroix responds "So is syphilis."
After reading the other reviews about this film, I decided to rent it the other day and I must say, it was rather enjoyable. Damon Wayans cast as Pierre Delacroix, a television writer for CNS who is, due to poor ratings, struggling to search for a hit TV series, and Pierre who is trying to get himself fired and unable to quit because of fear of being sued by the network decides that the best way to accomplish this is by creating the most racist, degrading and downright ignorant show ever to hit the airwaves in about 60 years. The show entitled "ManTan..The New Millenium Minstrel Show" is Pierre's best bet on getting himself fired however when the pilot episode is a hit and 12 more episodes are ordered, Pierre's fantasy of being fired boomeranged and became a nightmare becoming the most popular and most talked about show on TV and when the show's success begins to take Pierre's career to a whole different level, he then forgets about what reprocussions from this type of show were soon to follow and success goes to his head and only to end up miserable in the end. Damon Wayans casts as the lead was a very different approach for the comedian, however the accent(supposedly Haitian and his real name in the film was Peerless)was very annoying and easily dismissable(Spike shouldve just let him use his regular voice)and Jada Pinkett Smith cast as Pierre's very faithful assistant who knew from day one that the show's idea was wrong but stuck by her "superior" regardless with Michael Rapaport being casts as the humorous and ethnically lost Mr. Dunwitty, the network's VP of programming with his African American mannerisms and his constant reference to him being down with the Black culture. Notable performances from Tommy Davidson and Savion Glover as the 2 homeless street performers who were convinced to be the stars of this "groundbreaking" show. My favorite performance in the film had to be from comedian Paul Mooney who played Junebug, Pierre's father who's only small part was made special to Pierre's method of speech asking him the question "Boy, where the hell did you get that accent from?". Once again, Spike held nothing back and the result was once again an in your face display of the media's take on African Americans on TV and in entertainment. Not an upfront response but Spike brings it to a head and a different approach in the directing of this film...(he used nothing but home videocameras for the entire film)a great storyline overall from possibly the most controversial director in showbiz history. A film that will definitely make you think about today's programming.

Not what I was expecting
I have anjoyed several Spike Lee movies in the past but I can't say the same for this one. I think I cut the movie off about 3/4 of the way. Watching this movie was like pulling teeth (really). As a matter of fact, I have already resold this movie. In my opinion, the best part of the movie was the part with comedian Paul Mooney. I would have rather seen a documentary from Spike about the stereotypes of Black actors from the 1930's to the present.

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