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Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport ... see more see more... , Thomas Jefferson Byrd , Paul Mooney , Sarah Stacker Jones , Gillian Iliana Waters , Susan Batson , Mos Def , Kim Director

Writer and director Spike Lee casts his satiric gaze on racism in American television and how America's racist past still impacts the present in this biting comedy. Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) is ... read more read more...an astute, Harvard-educated African-American writer working for an independent television network who is assigned to brainstorm a new show for the African-American audience. Delacroix is the only black writer on the network's staff, and the longer he works under Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport), the loudmouthed executive in charge of programming, the more he's convinced he's made a mistake. Wanting to be fired, Delacroix writes a pilot he imagines is so offensive no network would ever dare to air it: "The ManTan Minstrel Show," in which dancer Man Ray (Savion Glover) and comedian Womack (Tommy Davidson) portray two shiftless dunderheads, ManTan and Sleep 'N Eat -- who are to be played in blackface. To Delacroix's surprise, Dunwitty gives the idea the go-ahead, and to his shock, the show is soon a massive hit. Delacroix is now stuck trying to explain his show to the African-American community, who are generally not amused, especially Sloan Hopkins (Jada Pinkett Smith), his assistant on the staff, who has become involved with Man Ray. In order to give Bamboozled a look that would suit its setting in the world of network television, Spike Lee and cinematographer Ellen Kuras shot the entire film using digital video equipment. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

73% liked it

7,877 ratings

Critics

48% liked it

96 critics

R, 2 hr. 15 min.

Directed by: Spike Lee

Release Date: October 6, 2000

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DVD Release Date: April 17, 2001

Stats: 670 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (670)

  • cosmo313
    March 3, 2012
    cosmo313
    For this feature, respected writer/director Spike Lee decided to make a satire concerns race in American culture, specifically television, and how racist imagery of the past still has an effect in the present day.

    The broad idea is a fine one, and this is a topic that should be ... read moreaddressed in a film. The major issue I have with this production is in its execution, and a lot of the choices Spike makes.

    The story concerns a well to do African American at a tv station who is fed up with his job, and decides to pitch a show idea so offensive, there's no way it will be accepted and air,, and he will be fired. It all backfires on him though, and the resulting fallout has a curious effect on him, the show's cast, other employees, and the viewing audience.

    The basic concept is nothugn really new, and the film owes a big debt to Network (which it makes great reference to). No, what bugs me is how the story is told. It is shot on video, giving it a documentary feel, which is okay, but it really makes everything look grainy and cheap, and the impact is lessened as a result. Also, to cause controversy, out Protagonist decides to have the program be a minstrel show set in a watermelon patch.

    I get the idea of satire, and purposely playing up buffonery, but come on, there's no way to incorrectly guess how something like this would be received. It's an out of touch and dated reference point, and sure, the film is probably eye opening for a number of people, but it seems like Lee misjudges how many people aren't already aware of the racial issues he brings up. Becuase it seems like he treats the viewers as totally ignorant, this is one of the most unsubtle, heavy handed, overbearing, and exhaustingly repetitive films out there.

    It's overlong, and the point gets hammered home really early on, so all the rest is just continual rehashing, and beating the message into people's heads with a sledgehammer. Yes, there are some really great points that are made, and there are some excellent sequences, but this is just way too overblown and tiresome.

    It's still a fascinating film, and will make you think, but this really needed to be written and edited a lot better. It does feature some really good performances however, even though Wayans and Rapaport do get a tad obnoxious at times.

    All in all, a noble effort, but a bit too flawed for me to really recommend. It does have a great set up though, so it's a shame that the execution isn't as strong or consistent.
  • ythelastman89
    February 21, 2011
    ythelastman89
    At this point in Spike Lee's career, it's almost at a point where enough is enough. His heavy handed messages about racism are sometimes very well done and effective, but other times they are bland and as ridiculous as this. The only thing that's really interesting about this is ... read morethe audience reaction to blackface, that's about it. Everything else presented in this has been done and done better. The really bad comical undertones to the movie only adds to its pointless nature because in the end it all just feels like a bad joke.
  • bottcorecords1
    March 6, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    Spike Lee delivers an intentionally shocking and racist film that winds up being shockingly racist in unintentional ways. Damon Wayans plays either an erudite and well-spoken television producer, or an erudite and well-spoken muppet, judging by his accent. He works for an explo... read moreitive tv network that's not interested in portraying realistic, positive images of african-americans, so he one day decides to create a show so offensive and over-the-top racist that the network executives will be swarmed with public outcry. His plans misfire when his "minstrel show for the new millenium" becomes a mega-hit, inspiring fans all over the country to don blackface call themselves "real" (n-words). Thrown into the mix is Wayan's personal assistant (Jada Pinkett) and her brother Mau Mau, a militant gangsta rapper, whose african pride seems a little misguided, to say the least. The film certainly starts off amusing, and has great intentions, but somewhere along the line, it loses it's point and focus. Jada Pinkett Smith is either a terrible actress or her character is just blandly awful (probably a little bit of both). I can't imagine this blackface minstrel show would ever be a hit series, as it's simply not very funny in any way (and even for a show about blackface, it goes into cheap and lazy territory). There is a fair point one could make about the idiocy of modern television effectively being just an updated version of a minstrel show, but Bamboozled doesn't go anywhere near that territory. By the end of the film (and I don't feel bad in revealing some spoilers), the film delves into wholly unrealistic gunplay and violence. It's incongruous and cheapens whatever valid points it was trying to make. Bamboozled winds up being a whole lot of unoriginal ideas slapped onto an interesting concept. In fact, the ending material sort of justifies the minstrel shows and demonstrates not a rising above that sort of material, but showing black culture as a whole has denegrated itself still further. Go rent the vastly superior C.S.A.: The Confederate States of America (2004) for a truly satirical look at America's attitude towards race.
  • rezpatriot
    January 27, 2008
    rezpatriot
    Spike Lee's film is certainly a fascinating premise. A satire of network television's pitfalls and prejudices, a peek into the way blacks have been represented historically in the media, and the ways in which they have sought to redress the cultural balance (there's a neat look a... read moret an extremist hip-hop collective) - it's certainly the nucleus for a meaty and much needed discourse.
  • kit85
    August 23, 2007
    kit85
    Watch it with commentary, Spike Lee's commentary is better that the film itself. could have been a great film, but ultimately it disappoints because of Damon Wayans who ruins an otherwise classy film. In large parts an articulate critique, in others frustratingly let down by the ... read moremain performance. I think most people gave it a good rating because they wanted it to be a great film. Although, it will make you think
  • draftintrafton
    August 13, 2010
    draftintrafton
    Subtle this movie is not. More angry than funny, this makes you (over?)analyze any black entertainment you see today.
  • placeinthesun455
    March 28, 2010
    placeinthesun455
    very interesting thought-provoking satire. I wasn't crazy with the casting choices--Damon Wayans and Michael Rapaport were particularly obnoxious, and not in a "look at these exaggerated characters making a social statement" kind of way. I really enjoyed the historical angle--I... read more don't know too many other films that deal with minstrel shows and other forms of old-fashioned racism with this much depth and accuracy. I also really enjoyed Savion Glover--gotta love him for keeping tap dance alive in this century. like most of Spike Lee's work, this film is too much about a higher purpose and not enough about being a solid-quality film. it's entertaining, it just gets a bit choked by the sub-standard cast and the overly-blatant attempt to convey a message
  • sleepykiss
    August 6, 2009
    sleepykiss
    Slow start, overly dramatic finish, but an effective film... O mammy, how i luvs ya, how i luvs ya.
  • divinecontroller
    June 5, 2009
    divinecontroller
    This movie mad me laugh, made me mad and made me cry. There was such a clarity of the things that people had to go through and the things people didn't and shouldn't have to go through to be seen and heard. The portrayal of Blacks in the media over the years is truly a travesty a... read morend this I believe is what happen to the "Chappelle Show". There had to be a moment where Dave realized or felt like he was falling into the Black face tragedy. I know that's what it was. This movie documents and illustrates what some people really think, live and breath in their hearts. That's why you need to be supporting Spike Lee films. Nobody could put it out there like he did here.
  • engrymfilm
    October 9, 2008
    engrymfilm
    Spike Lee is most of the time up his own ass. No difference really with this movie but I found it to be very sad

View All Bamboozled Reviews

Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
September 23, 2008
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

This is basically sloppy, all-over-the-map filmmaking with few hints of self-criticism and few genuine laughs. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
April 27, 2007
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

If Mr. Lee meant to bring back blackface entertainment as a metaphor for the current black performers he finds obnoxious, he has miscalculated. Full Review

Rick Groen
March 19, 2002
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

At his best, Spike Lee is too brave to be subtle. Full Review

Peter Travers
June 4, 2001
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

You won't look at race onscreen the same way again.

Lisa Schwarzbaum
January 1, 2000
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Nothing Lee has done is as flashy or as mucked up as Bamboozled. Full Review

Mike Clark
January 1, 2000
Mike Clark, USA Today

Visually drab and ultimately done in by a heavy- handedness no prettier to ponder.

Edward Guthmann
January 1, 2000
Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle

A rousing, vital, important experience. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

People's feelings run too strongly and deeply for any satirical use [of blackface] to be effective. The power of the racist image tramples over the material and asserts only itself. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
January 1, 2000
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

It's been a long time since I've seen a movie that made me feel, think, laugh and cry -- often simultaneously.

Kenneth Turan
January 1, 2000
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

Savage, abrasive, audacious and confrontational, Bamboozled is the work of a master provocateur. Full Review

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Bamboozled Trivia

  • What director am I? She's Gotta Have It (1986) Malcolm X (1992) Bamboozled (2000) When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)  Answer »
  • I've had a hand in each of these films: Mo Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game and Bamboozled. Who am I?  Answer »
  • what spike lee movie talked about the history of black face?  Answer »
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