Bamboozled

When I first saw this at the time, this film had me really conflicted, which was at the very least one of it's objectives. I personally felt at the time, that it was trying to be ironic and contradictory, yet I wondered if it truly was satire, or actually in the end committed what it was trying to be critical of.

The story is about the production of a satire of minstrel shows with black actors in blackface. I think Spike was asking a deeper question of the notion of black entertainers altogether. Even poking fun at himself, suggesting famous black actors like Denzel would never put on blackface (and then he cuts to a film of Denzel in his own film Malcolm X).

Paul Mooney's stand up act is some of the best moments of the film in addition to Savion Glover's unbelievable tapping!


"A disillusioned TV writer revives a black stereotype." Starring Damon Wayans, Savion Glover, Jada Pinkett Smit, Tommy Davidson, Michael Rapaport, Thomas Jefferson Byrd. Directed by Spike Lee. 2000. 135 mins.