Review – Bamboozled

Yet again Spike Lee doesn’t get anywhere near the distribution he deserves. Thank goodness for DVD, I guess. Thematically this movie has much in common with Hollywood Shuffle, though Lee’s effort is a good deal more intense than Robert Townsend’s light-hearted send-up of racism in American media. Here Lee tells the tale of a network executive (Damon Wayans) who responds to pressure for a successful “Black” program by proposing a black-face minstrel show done over as a 21st-century variety series. Our hero descends further and further into his own personal heart of darkness as the network unexpectedly green-lights the concept and the program turns out to be a tremendous hit with audiences and critics alike. As long as the movie sticks to the main plot-line, it’s a masterpiece. However, somewhere after the midway point some awkward, unwelcome subplots creep in and the story gets a bit muddled. Further, Lee gets a “fails to learn his own lesson” sticker for a couple of brief treatments of Jewish characters. Problems aside, this is an outstanding piece of film-making, thought-provoking, amusing and well-crafted. Worth seeing