How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (Baadasssss!) poster & wallpaper

Adam West, Joe Bryant, Joy Bryant

Melvin Van Peebles stunned the world for the first time, with his debut feature, "The Story of a Three Day Pass." Filmed in France and selected as the French entry in the San Francisco Film Festival, ...( read more  read more... )Melvin's film was awarded the top prize. Saying it was controversial would be an understatement. In 1968 for a black man to walk up to the podium and accept the top festival award for a film he had to go abroad to make--now that's how you make your mark. After his comedy, "Watermelon Man," Melvin was determined to push the Hollywood boundaries with the groundbreaking, and even more controversial, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." Turned down by every major studio including Columbia, where he had a three-picture deal, Melvin was forced to basically self-finance. Risking everything he had Melvin delivered to the world the first Black Ghetto hero on the big screen--whether they were ready or not! More than 30 years later, history is being fashioned again in the telling of this very tale. Mario Van Peebles, Melvin's son, directs an honest and revealing portrait of his pioneering father. Mario now tells the story of the making of Melvin Van Peebles' landmark 1971 film, "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," including Melvin's struggles to raise money to fund the film under the guise of creating a black porno film. Melvin had ducked creditors, the unions and had to bail out his camera crew after they were arrested because a white cop decided "a bunch of Negroes and hippies couldn't have come by that camera equipment honestly." Despite death threats and temporarily losing sight in one eye, Melvin somehow managed to whip into shape a rag-tag, multi-racial crew and finish the film that would give birth to birth of a new era which was about to explode: Independent Black Cinema.

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83% liked it

3,822 ratings

Critics

90% liked it

105 critics

R, 1 hr. 48 min.

Directed by: Mario Van Peebles

Release Date: September 7, 2003

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DVD Release Date: September 14, 2004

Stats: 195 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (195)

  • stopitgoaway
    October 16, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    Ever wonder what it would be like to make your own film without a studio to support you and no money in the bank to fund it. Well, thankfully Mario Van Peebles' father forged ahead in the 70s with a dream and passion like no other. While Hollywood was content with making pictures...( read more) that negatively depicted African Americans, Melvin Van Peebles decided to break this cultural norm and change the face of cinema.

    With no budget, money from friends and drug dealers, and a non-union crew, Melvin created the impossible. He grabbed a hold of an idea and let nothing get in the way from accomplishing it. Melvin had a dream of making an African American the center of the film, one that took no sass from anyone and criticized the modern white Government. While big studios backed away from this project, Melvin jumped forward made Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. There were trial and tribulations to get it done, but thanks to a very surprising source the film became a success. It was the first independent film to become the number one film in America.

    Similar to the passion seen in Melvin's eyes when he is making his low-budget film, Mario portrays that exact same involvement when making this low-budget film. What I loved about this film is that there is so much raw, unbridled emotion behind Mario's eyes that you can tell that he 1) loves his Dad and 2) wanted to show America the truth behind this innovator's life. This is Mario's past, and he superbly reenacts it on screen. He carries this film, showing us the many facets of his father. He shows the angry American, the independent talent, the powerful leader, and even the emotional parent. Through all of this Mario continues to keep this film focused and interesting. We cannot keep our eyes off his portrayal of his father. I would not be surprised if he is nominated for an Oscar this year.

    Finally, this is a very powerful film that speaks about a side of Hollywood that is less known. It shows how the boundaries of racism can be broken with imagination and persistence. It shows that 'all men are created equal' and that if you have a dream you should pursue it. If you are in the process of making your own film and need a movie that will inspire and motivate, this would be the film to watch. From the moment I put this film in my DVD player, I was glued. What a powerful story coupled with interesting actors (Adam West and Sally Struthers) and told with a very realistic voice.

    I highly recommend this film.
  • RiderOfTheStorms
    December 19, 2007
    RiderOfTheStorms
    pretty good movie
  • twanUM
    June 30, 2007
    twanUM
    I love the layering... Mario Van Peebles writes, produces, directs and stars in a film about his father (Melvin Van Peeples) writing, producing, directing and staring in a film. Reminds me of Tarantino, as he makes a film about a genre of film that also exists in the genre... if...( read more) that makes sense.
  • johnd62
    March 20, 2007
    johnd62
    A brilliant and entertaining tribute to Mevin Van Peebles.
  • KLFilmmaker
    September 20, 2006
    KLFilmmaker
    Nice slice of black cinema history.
  • lesleyanorton
    September 3, 2009
    lesleyanorton
    Not so much a documentary (though its filmed like one) but a drama showing how Melvin Van Peebles' "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song." got made, despite the lack of money, support, technical expertise, social climate, etc etc. Directed by and staring his son Mario Van Peeble...( read more)s, who does an amazing job of conveying the complexity, charm and take-no-prisoners attitude of his dad, and a feeling of what it was like to be there in that time in that place. And Mario should know, since he was hauled in act in the most controversal scene in the entire film. Before watching this, I though it was going to be heavy viewing, but instead it turned out to be thoroughly entertaining, made with a light hand and an easy wit and a lot of humour in it. Go, son, go.
  • zdravkoduck
    June 25, 2009
    zdravkoduck
    If you ever wanted to know what it would be like to make a film watch this one. All the financing all the scheduling the dedication it takes really speaks very loudly in this picture about Mario Van Peebles fathers struggle to make his now famous Sweet Sweetbacks Badasssss Song. ...( read more)If you didn't understand me a second ago I'll try again. Mario Van Peebles plays his father and Zero from holes plays Mario Van Peebles son when he was a kid.
  • rilokatie
    February 23, 2009
    rilokatie
    Good work, son. Non-boring historiography.
  • Soundsofmadness
    January 10, 2009
    Soundsofmadness
    No thankyou - Not interested.
  • erikggrep
    September 23, 2008
    erikggrep
    How to get the man's foot outta....what? Not interested.

View All How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (Baadasssss!) Reviews

Critic Reviews

June 25, 2004
Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

Not just forgiving toward the elder Van Peebles, it's filled with a spirit of comic amazement about what he accomplished. full review

June 11, 2004
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

One of the best movies I've seen about the making of a movie. full review

June 4, 2004
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Crystallizes two rich moments -- one, in American cultural life, when movies seemed full of danger and possibility, and another in a man's life. full review

June 4, 2004
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

You don't need to have seen the father's movie to enjoy the son's, a multitiered fantasia that's part cinema history, part family reunion, and all hall of mirrors. full review

May 31, 2004
Edward Havens, FilmJerk.com

Compelling storytelling from the opening frame to the final credits, led by a cigar-chomping iconoclast doing it by any means necessary. full review

May 20, 2004
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

The film is technically raw, but the sight of Van Peebles playing his father at a defining moment in movie history exerts a potent fascination. full review

View more How to Get the Man's Foot Outta Your Ass (Baadasssss!) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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