With his provocative Bamboozled. a raging satire on mass-media trivialization and stereotyping of African Americans. writer-director Spike Lee forces even his fiercest supporters to wrestle with troubling questions. It opens with a network big shot (Michael Rapaport) castigating a black. Harvard-educated TV writer (Damon Wayans) for his insufficient ethnicity. Charged with delivering a hit show -- or else -- Wayans swallows his pride and hires homeless street artists Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson to appear in blackface on his 'New Millennium Minstrel Show.' Their retro-racist routines. along with the inspired musical stylings of a house band called the Alabama Porch Monkeys. make the show a surprise hit. inducing Wayans and assistant Jada Pinkett-Smith to overlook its ugly stereotyping. Lee occasionally pushes the point too hard. but flashes of brilliance temper his self-indulgence. He makes the case that the media in general. and TV in particular. are always tempted to fall back on hurtful attitudes and icons -- especially when ratings are low. Bamboozled is occasionally draggy. preachy. and self-important -- but. like Lees best films. its also passionate and forceful. Lee supplies a commentary for the DVD. which also features a making-of documentary. deleted scenes. music videos. a gallery of artwork created for the movie. cast/crew filmographies. and DVD-ROM content. Ed Hulse
