As an aspiring writer who has written novels, poems, and screenplays, I know the creative process is an arduous and backbreaking venture to deal in. It's rough and difficult to realize your idea on page, and then get people to follow behind you and buy your idea, especially to close-minded people. What "Badasssss" does is show that creative process and the journey in getting it shown to the audience you want.

This is not a film about a black man getting a movie about a black man made, this is the story about an artist getting his artistic vision realized, while the powers that be (the studios) did everything possible to halt the production, and it's a topic any artist can relate to. Whether you're writer, painter, or film director this is a film with a story and message that will speak to everyone in the creative field and convey some sense of hope in the amazing story of Melvin Van Peeble's torturous attempt to get a movie made. In the role of Melvin Van Peebles is his son Mario Van Peebles who plays his beloved father and gives the performance of his career. Peebles also directs the movie as a docudrama with a mock documentary vibe and fake interviews from colleagues while we witness Melvin attempting to create his vision. His movie was the cult classic "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song", an offbeat attempt to break free from the stereotypes of black culture at the time.

Melvin had to bear witness to the negative stereotypes of his culture on-screen, and wanted to change it and in this he paved the way for blaxploitation and great blaxploitation. What I adored so much about this was it perfectly pinpoints the creative process in writing and what it takes during that process of writing, and its so well done here. This wasn't just a bulls eye type of portrait of an artist, but there are great emotions behind the artistry and in Melvin wanting people to see his film desperately, this making of a movie is symbolic of his journey to break free from his limits, and Peebles puts his father on a pedestal and portrays him in such a positive light, it's very touching. But whether or not the movie itself sucked, that's just a basic moot point, but we do get to see a lot of the mechanics behind making a low budget film and the sacrifices Melvin made for this movie.

This skillfully explores what many studios should learn that art is about sacrifice, it's about pain and torture, and Melvin sacrificed everything he had from his wife to the respect of his children, and his health, just to make this film which he felt would pave the way for a more positive view on the black culture and he couldn't have been more precise in his vision. He's portrayed perfectly as an artist and skin color holds no relevance during the story. Mario perfectly acts as his father Melvin with a stunning resemblance and gives an excellent performance that just demonstrates his wasted talents as an actor in his previous films. He manages to hone in his talents well just owning the screen and grabbing the audience’s attention, and Peebles perfectly captures the conflict of conscience with Melvin, and how hard he struggled with some eye-catching scenes where he talks to himself in the form of his character Sweetback, most of the scenes featured are very engrossing.

Meanwhile behind the powerful performance of Peebles, there are great supporting performances from people like late Great Ossie Davis, Khleo Thomas whose very low-key as a young Mario Peebles, Nia Long, David Alan Grier and many others who just pack this film with talent. Any one who loves movies about making movies and the mechanics about filmmaking will surely get a kick out of this which shows the true resourcefulness behind making an independent film and involves some really funny scenes like when Melvin is auditioning actors for the Sweetback role, the hilarious set of scenes of Melvin's secretary Priscilla constantly auditioning for a role in the movie, to Melvin getting an actor to get his stutter back by taking away his firearm during a scene, all of which was so very funny. The mood for the film is electric ranging from dark, to light, to very artistic and all of it is very pleasing to the audience in our experience in to the mind of Melvin whose depicted as a very motivated artist.

There are also a lot of really well done relationships between characters as we see Melvin charming distributors, calming his crew, and bringing his son and daughter along for everything he's involved in, possibly some of the best moments of the movie, all of which intertwines into a very exceptional piece of art that will surely translate to all audiences. And be sure to stay for the end credits! You'll be surprised.

Where the film has its strong points is where it fails in its attempts to become artistic. I never took to the fake interviews from some of the actors. It made no sense. Why not have the real people doing interviews while the movie played out instead of having the actors as the real people being interviewed, and if interviews weren't possible, just fill it in with the actual movie. They were just too goofy and took me out of the movie really awkwardly, and for the record TK Carter, that is the worst impression of Bill Cosby I've ever seen. Barnone.

While it attempts to be overly-artistic with goofy mock interviews during the movie, I flipped over this. Peebles explores the creative process, and filmmaking to a T with an amazing performance, excellent script, and fascinating experiences in to Peebles drive to make the film he wanted while working around the studios. This is excellent and well worth the watch for any artist.

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