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This is Lee's best film. It isn't heavy handed despite the explosive topic. In fact I would argue that the images in this film are less offensive then some of the depiction of African-American life seen on MTV or BET. Less heavy handed then some of the vulgar depiction of my community that is allowed to be foisted on my community as entertainment. The modern minstrels show can be seen any night of the week on America's cable music networks. Which is more embarrassing Lil'John, 50 cent or Mantan? Which has had a bigger impact on the daily lives of African-American children, images of Step- N-Fetch it or Lil'John? Which are the stereotypes that are used to justify racial profiling in the larger public of the country in 2006, Gangstas or minstrels performers? It is a film about the power and responsibility of black America to control the images that define it.

I think Lee for the first time in a long time had a story he actually wanted to tell. The script was solid if not great. As usual Spike had a tough time with his female characters. The women in his films tend to be two dimensional. All good or all bad. It wasn't a perfect film but I think it will be remembered as one of Spike's most interesting.

I am absolutely embarrassed right now that I have never watched a Spike Lee film before. I have always wanted to see Do the Right Thing, which is generally considered his best film, and I even rented it once, but never got around to watching it. When Bamboozled opened last year, it sounded very interesting, but after the critics dismissed it as a failed attempt at satire, I decided to catch it later on, perhaps after I saw Do the Right Thing. Then I saw it was going to be played on television, so I found the time and sat down to watch. What I saw was something absolutely amazing.

And that's not to say that Bamboozled doesn't have its flaws. I would personally deem it a flawed masterpiece, a very flawed masterpiece. The critics were right: Lee's satire is misplaced. He's far too hotheaded an artist to have realized this immediately, but he should have when the New York Times refused to run the movie's add, which depicted a sambo character eating a watermelon, because they feared protests. Bamboozled asks us to suspend our disbelief - a disbelief which Spike Lee may not have had himself - and accept that a TV network would produce the New Millennium Minstrel Show and that the public, a la Mel Brooks' The Producers, would eat it up. Lee's argument in the press is that this was already happening. His targets were rap videos and a show on the WB network that only produced something like 6 episodes (the show was about Abe Lincoln's black servant who single-handedly ran the country; Lincoln was the buffoon). The reason that the New York Times didn't run Lee's add is the exact same reason Lee wrote the film in the first place: African American political activists, including Lee, often have very knee-jerk reactions to such things. The show about Lincoln, which Lee argued was set during the "holocaust" of his people, actually showed the white people to be the buffoons and the blacks to be their manipulators. He missed the point (which could very well have been due to the fact that the show sucked anyhow). Add to this the fact that, besides clips of Good Times and The Jeffersons, both of which, I ought to add (in my own opinion), Lee is taking out of context (he would have been much better off to feature Diff'rent Strokes, which is somewhat offensive), all of the clips he uses to demonstrate the abuse of his race must have been downright difficult to dig out of film archives. None of these cartoons or movies that are shown, nor most of the sambo toys, have been seen for some thirty years or more, most probably not since before Spike Lee was born. We all know they exist, and, as Sloan (Jada Pinkett Smith) says in the film, we oughtn't to forget whether we're black or white, but it doesn't work as satire to show these things. They aren't at all harmful now, not until you drag them up again. Then they're only offensive when knees start jerking.

None of this matters, in fact. Not to me, anyway. In my opinion, film today has become far too complacent. Bamboozled is an enormous jolt to our current, apathetic world. The fight may be misdirected and wholly fabricated by a paranoid man, but Spike Lee is indeed a masterful director. In fact, I would very favorably compare this film to Jean-Luc Godard's Le Week-End, which was also somewhat misdirected in its satire. Both of these films are excellent. Bamboozled moves with a speed and passion almost completely foreign to the world of filmmaking today. It's angry, it's brazen, and it makes your heart pound with fear, sadness, and intensity. It also raises more difficult issues than any film I've seen in a very long time. It manages to do this while remaining funny, too, although I was always wondering whether Spike Lee would slap me for laughing at this stuff. I especially loved the Tommi Hilnigger Jeans commercial. But even the New Millennium Minstrel Show is presented in a humorous way. A lesser artist, I believe, would have made it more clearly offensive. As it stands, it's difficult not to laugh at Mantan and Sleep-N-Eat (probably the most jaw-droppingly funny and ballsy name I've ever heard) as they perform. Tommy Davidson and Crispin Glover put enough energy in these stage performances to electrocute you. Their performances are awesome - often the dialogue they do have is cliched, but in many small moments their faces clearly express, and subtly, too, how their lives are crumbling. I would also like to compliment Jada Pinkett Smith, who turns in the film's finest performance. I have a feeling she's just going to get better and better, if someone would give her another decent role. Michael Rapaport, although perhaps a little too cartoony, is still very funny. Damon Wayans has the most difficult part. I'll bet money that he and Lee KNEW that the critics would immediately jump on Wayans' fake white accent. I can't imagine they thought it was all that funny or believable. However, I'm not sure why they did it. It does detract a little from the film, though not as much as many critics claimed it does. Personally, I would have either had that accent fade as the film went on. It sounds especially bad when it comes back at the end, after all those powerful (if pointless) scenes of African Americans in the cinema. Although, as that very phony voice is brought back, we recall the way the film began...

Other aspects of the filmmaking are excellent as well. I have already praised Lee's direction. It is quickly paced and he really knows how to move his camera. The editing is fantastic. A powerful rhythm is established right away and never abandoned. In fact, the film pulls a daring change from satire to melodrama about halfway through, another aspect of the film that people complained on end about. It is all done with gusto, especially in the editing. The cinematography - wow! This and Lars von Trier's Dancer in the Dark show how worthwhile digital video is. Lee and his DP use it to an amazing degree! When characters are moving fast, which happens most often when Mantan is tap-dancing, a blur is left on the screen for a split second. Late in the film, when Mantan is trying to free himself from the show, Lee causes these blurs to remain onscreen for a prolonged period of time. The effect is simply powerful. One major complaint I have is the score. It's often manipulative. I think it would have been better to have had a minimalist score, which would have made the film seem even more immediate.

Like I said, there are many major and legitimate complaints against Bamboozled, but critics and audiences forgot what's going for it: it is EXCELLENT CINEMA. 9/10.

I was lucky enough to see the Philadelphia premiere of this movie at the U. of Penn, with Spike Lee in attendance, and I left the theatre feeling almost speechless. I've seen most of Lee's films and have mixed emotions and reviews of each of them; however, this film is truly a MASTERPIECE of filmmaking. Without giving away the many-layered plot, which must be experienced to be appreciated, the subject is a touchy one --- controversial and poignant, embarrassing and humiliating, enlightening and insightful. Mainstream white audiences ( of which I am a part ) may find the subject to be uncomfortable --- obviously one of Lee's goals here --- and all audiences will find certain parts of the movie to be terrifying. Besides the storyline, the acting is wonderful across the board, and Daman Wayans deserves an Academy Award for his over-the-top role. Spike Lee's "Bamboozled" should go down in history as one of the most important films about race vs. social status and the misconceptions and stereotypes that surround them, as well as being a magnificent movie about popular culture and the almighty dollar. It is alternatingly hysterical, contemplative, witty and violent, and I left the theatre in tears, totally speechless. Unfortunately, this will probably be a short-lived film in your local cineplex, but hopefully it will gain enough serious attention to win the accolades it deserves, as well as open some closed eyes and minds.

Being white, and european, I'm not really sure about the point of this movie seen in an american perspective. But as a european it really opened my eyes to a strange fact: if your only knowledge about black America comes from television, you WOULD really think, that all afro-americans were gangsters, rappers or Urkel-like comedians, that is: stereotypes. You very rarely see an american show, or movie, where a black american is portrayed as a complex human being. And that really IS scary.

For the most part, Spike Lee is an angry filmmaker and I cannot blame his anger nor do I criticize it. With films such as Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever, he shows his passion and understanding of situations such as racial feelings between all races, not just whites and blacks as well as how outsiders view interracial relationships. Here, his target is the entertainment industry, specifically television and he cuts right to the core because he knows how important and complex this issue is and wastes no time of this 135-minute film to stuff every frame and scene with a message and relating what he has seen in this country and how he feels about it.

First off, the acting is near flawless. Damon Wayans gives his best performance ever as Pierre Delacroix, a successful producer upset that he is not considered black with his fancy dress and white accent. Determined to make his case, he decides to create a minstrel show very much in the vein of those from the 1930s and 40s. However, he goes one step further and hires black actors to use blackface makeup as well as make the subject and setting the most politically incorrect setups imaginable. What he doesn't expect is the overwhelming popularity of the show complete with huge ratings and numerous critical awards.

For my money, Lee almost had a great film here. The first hour is terrific, biting satire, attacking everything and anything. Lee takes no prisoners and also gives some very interesting bits about how a TV show is brought to life. But, once the show becomes a success and the people involved develop consciences, Lee's vision narrows and soon it becomes more of the angry and socially-aware Spike Lee we've seen in much better films. Being white myself, I never liked how Lee seemed to portray whites as leering fools and the true ignorant people of America as opposed to the "more commonly accepted" view of blacks. Still, his feelings were justified in Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever and earlier works. Bamboozled tries too hard and loses its mission towards the end. The end is in fact a rehash of many other movies seen before, even ones self-consciously referred to here such as Network and The Producers.

Spike Lee is a gifted and fearless director and I cannot say this is a boring or uninspiring film. I was held captive every step of the way. I just wish he had picked a better and more effective way to satirize his subjects, as well as maybe broaden the horizons; only then could it really take root.

The film "Bamboozled" has caught a lot of heat for it's portrayal of blackface (an issue that wasn't really talked about until the release of "Bamboozled") Writer Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) sees his pitches for TV shows being rejected one after another. He is upset with his job and his boss Thomas Dunwitty (Mike Rappaport) He is under contract, he cannot quit because he will be sued. So he decides to get himself fired. He plans on reviving blackface and hopes that it'll be so controversial that CNS will be under fire and he'll get fired. He recruits two street performers Manray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson) and pitches the show to his boss. The show gets green lighted, but unfortunately it becomes a big hit and destroys his whole plan. Spike got some heat for this (mainly because he criticized previous films for the way blacks are shown, then he made a film with blackface) But what people don't understand is that this is a satire. The images of rappers and "Timmi Hillnigger" are all poking fun at today's society. "Bamboozled" is clever and one of Spike's most explosive films next to "Do the Right Thing" and "Malcolm X". This film has Tommy Davidson performing in blackface, in a very funny routine. I wanted to laugh but at the same time it made me think. This sketch was making me laugh at every stereotype about my people that I hated. That was the smart thing about "Bamboozled", it caught you in the act of doing something and made you think. "Bamboozled" is a well thought, mentally challenging film that'll change your life.

Bamboozled- rated R **** out of ****

I approached this film with trepidation due to the mixed reviews(in particular, the flat-out negative review of Ebert at the Movies). Knowing Lee's penchant for controversy, but knowing also his unflinching honesty and passion about his position, I decided to give this film a chance.

I consider myself an educated, articulate, middle-class black-american. And I was wary of Lee's supposed satire which centers on the creation of Minstrel show for the new millenium. By the time I credits rolled, I was applauding.

In this film, Lee takes no prisoners, he neither excuses the white establishment for its entrenched and hard-to-expose racism nor does he excuse the blacks and other non-whites who become the literal agents of this process.

This story of two young black men's rise to financial and commercial glory through demeaning themselves, their talent and by example the group of people from which they hail, is an allegory. Rather than getting stuck in a discussion of this film's form, viewers should consider what it means about the world around them.

The disturbing and unnerving finale, is a suitable response to our rising awareness of inner-city violence, hip-hop culture, the prison industrial complex, and the police state in which many blacks, poor or not, find themselves a part. Instead of offering us solutions this film offers us, as in many other of Lee's films, a wake up call.

As in the body of Lee's work, the camera work gives a gritty cinema verite feel to the scenes, and the performances of Glover, Davidson, Pinkett, Wayans, and Rappaport are dead-on. The cast has a good chemistry and the dialogue will have have you howling with disbelief and laughter.

An incredibly important film, for any consumer, and by definition, any creator of popular culture who may be responsible for the perpetuation and dissemination of DAMAGING and DEGRADING stereotypes. Thank you, Mr. Lee.

This could have been a brilliant film. The problem I had with this film is that Spike Lee had too many ideas he was trying to pursue, and should have kept to the single focus. Yet, there were some brilliant scenes. We see a black gangsta group of hip-hoppers and one scene shows a member drinking out of a bottle shaped like a rocket. Later on we see a commercial for this product. Subtle and interesting. The film clips from old films and the display of of toys during the endtitles, were fascinating and could have made an interesting documentary.

One thing I didn't like, besides the stereotypical white bigots, was Lee's focusing upon 40s black comedian Mantan Moreland as the epitome of black humiliation. Moreland was a brilliant comic who stole the show from the white actors of the day. Whites and Blacks turned against Moreland during the civil rights movement and the man could hardly make ends meet. Before he died in the early 70s, opinion changed again and he was seen as a pioneer. He once again managed to get some work in films and tv before his death. A better target for Lee should have been Stepin Fletchit, who made a career out of playing a lazy black freeloader.

I have to agree with Lee on hip-hop as a minstrel show. The gold chains, oversized sport jerseys, and baseball caps worn sideways are clownish and not far removed from the olden days when blacks played buffoons to entertain white people. The show is still going on....

Bamboozled is the story of Pierre Delacroix, a Harvard educated writer who is ripped for his Cosbyesque ideas that lead to cancellation. Michael Dunwitty claiming to be "blacker than you Delacroix" and can "Say the word n*@&a, I have a black wife and have 2 biracial kids"

So he goes in the opposite direction and revives a minstrel show, thinking it will be so offensive that it will be canceled. Much to his chagrin the minstrel show Delacroix puts up is actually a hit. The movie starts from there, as it is mired in controversy and has reactions from both sides of the spectrum (extreme love to extreme hate) references to black power make their way into the movie

Biting satire about how America doesn't really want to see intelligent black characters on TV.

I saw Bamboozled on cable years ago and could not watch the entire movie. I was very uncomfortable with the racist minstrel characters and those dehumanizing vintage toys. Flash forward to 2012 and I happened across it again. Wow, what a difference 10 years make. Since the election of Barack Obama, seemingly normal white people have lost their collective minds. They spent years denying the president's legal citizenship. They joined anti government Tea Party groups not because they did not wanted their big gov't social security checks but because they wanted to hang with a bunch of aging bigots carrying signs of the President dressed as a Kenyan native.

Where does Bamboozled fit in? These very same people love Herman Cain. It took me awhile but I finally got it, Mr Lee. Herman Cain is the Negro that white America is comfortable with. A self confessed sitting on the back of the bus entertaining... "awwwwww shucky ducky now" Negro. The Racist Tea Party folks could not get enough of him and his simplistic 9-9-9 plan. . When white women accused Mr Cain of sexual harassment, that just comforted them more because everyone knows Negros love white women. I guarantee you that if Herman Cain had darkened his skin with a burnt cork, the Tea Party folks would have lapped it up. His audience could have easily started to sport a black face too and proclaimed loudly to the press, "See we aren't racist!" The Herman Cain train exemplified everything that Spike Lee was saying in this dark comedy. Americans do not want to see African Americans represented by the Bill Cosby Show or the educated, functional Obama family. They want a minstrel show.

The movie is heartbreaking as is the behavior of many Americans. Thank you Spike Lee.

To give credit where it's due, Spike Lee is a genuine article, someone who came out of NYU and became one of the most recognizable personalities in film-making. His voice is his own, and whether working for a studio or on more independent terms it's always a "Joint". Is this always a marker of him hitting it out of the park every time? Not really. As if he was Jean-Luc Godard among the black filmmaker's circle, when he's on fire he's surely hot, and when he's not it's f***ing horrifying to see him fail. Bamboozled is one of those latter times, and it's so flawed in so many ways that it's a wonder that some of the good ideas come through in the mid-section. It's the kind of movie where one may like it more for what it could have been rather than what it is.

Bamboozled is meant to be, as Lee's character Delacroix (Damon Wayans) points out more than once both to the audience in dictionary definition and layman's terms, a satire. Thanks for the reminder, Spike! This is all well and good, but it's ultimately misguided and without a really solid comic viewpoint. In essence what Lee is after is a premise sort of out of Mel Brooks's the Producers; a creative guy down on his luck finds something to push that he thinks is so offensive and terrible that it won't run for very long, only to find that it becomes a surprise smash hit. Where Brooks had really funny and spot-on casting with Mostel and Wilder and characters to care about in their lunacy, Lee makes it a total mish-mash that is unnerving. And for every little moment, like the "ads" for the likes of Timmy Hill(n-word), there are a lot of satirical targets that just fall flat.

But back to the casting for a moment: Damon Wayans, both his performance and his character of Delacroix, is a total disaster. Maybe Wayans has done some good work in the past (ironically, as it's mentioned in the film as a point of reference for black variety shows, in In Living Color), but he makes the character sound totally off-key, sounding like a nerd with a bad accent and with mannerisms that are just awful. Whether or not the blame is Wayans or Lee's writing and direction is a 50/50 split; others like Davidson and Glover fare a little better, and Jada Pinkett Smith arguably delivers the best non-unreal performance of the lot. And Mos Def basically hadn't really become an actor quite yet, so his turn here is mostly as a spoof (a flat one at that as a gangster rapper). And don't get me started on Michael Rappaport, ugh!

Bamboozled goes up and down in its level of pretentiousness and ineptitude: for the first half an hour I wondered if I was really watching a movie by Spike "Do the Right Thing" Lee, as it's mostly shot in mini-DV camera style like some amateurs from a college film program in their first year. It doesn't even FEEL like any semblance of a real movie, save for some attempts at moving the plot forward (Rappaport's insistence on getting more "edgy" black images on TV to Delacroix, who responds with his brilliant put-on), until about forty-five minutes in. Then it starts to get slightly more interesting, though still problematic in filming style and performances (albeit I did enjoy, as filmed in 16mm, the Mantan sequences as a hyper-stylized set-piece, and the one scene with Delacroix and his stand-up comic father played by Paul Mooney).

But as Lee's polemic grows more dire and more serious, and as the circumstances of Womack and Manray's disagreement about what they're doing leads to a somewhat predictable, horribly melodramatic and preachy finale, I was ready to chuck my diet coke at the screen. Yet I stuck through to the end, and realized something during the final five or so minutes as the cavalcade of images in montage went by of American TV and movie history of black stereotypes (including the infamous Birth of a Nation racism); had Lee done much of what he's presented in Bamboozled as a real documentary- which is just as much if not more-so history lesson than satire- then he might be on to something with a better grip on minstrel shows and media-stereotypes. Instead, as with She Hate Me (though in a way not as entertainingly in a bad-movie sort of way), Lee vomits up all of his ideas in a spastic narrative, and only a few of them stick out. When they do stick out, it's cool to watch. When they don't, it's tiresome, scatter-shot, and ultimately very faulty in execution. 4.5/10

Pierre Delacroix (Damon Wayans) is a network TV executive. His boss Dunwitty (Michael Rapaport) berates him for the faltering viewership and programs which are too white bread. Delacroix decides to make an offensive minstrel show to prove that it's bad programming. He recruits Manray (Savion Glover) and Womack (Tommy Davidson) to play the black-faced Mantan and Sleep'n Eat. Instead, the show becomes an instant success and duo becomes overnight superstars with all the accompanying racial issues.

Director Spike Lee has a great idea on his hands but I question the reaction of the audience. I'm willing to accept its success as part of the plot but the show is simply not funny. It's not just offensive. It's not actually funny. Spike Lee should have made the initial success to be an academic one. Some could see it as satire or even an exercise to confront racism in an ironic way. Its subsequent success could be racists taking over and not seeing it as satire. Delacroix would play into the racism until he is confronted by its racist audience. Then his mother's rejection would be the coup de grâce. Also, Damon Wayans' performance is rather annoying. It would be more compelling if he would play it straight. This is an important issue and a really interesting idea. It does need some reworking.

Spike Lee takes on yet another social issue. This time it is the media and its role in perpetuating stereotypes and racism. It is a catch 22 for many actors and entertainers. Take the gig and sacrifice my self-respect, or don't take the gig and sacrifice my ability to eat. A similar theme was explored in a very funny and well done movie in Robert Townsend's "Hollywood Shuffle".

I thought the movie was good. It showed the different aspects of the media, from the talent, to the execs, to the writers, and even the audience. I would be lying if I didn't say that some of the scenarios were a bit exaggerated, but Spike Lee is well known to exaggerate to make sure the point is understood. I, for one, was glad to see him magnify the situations so that there would be no mystery as to what happens in the media on a more subtle and discreet level. It was the best Spike Lee film since "Get on the Bus".

I wish I could have seen this in the theater back in 2000. Sadly, I lived 200 miles away from a theater at the time. Regardless, this is a raw, honest open movie about the black community that should be seen by everyone.

Spike lee makes a very good and funny film. The movie looks at Damon Wayans (the main character) trying to show a clean cut image of Afro Americans on t.v - but the audience prefer to see negative images. Bamboozled is not as good as HOLLYWOOD SHUFFLE - but does make you think

"Bamboozled" is easily the most disappointing movie of 2000, and of Spike Lee's career. Simplistic and confusing all at once, this film suffers from multiple maladies. There's poor character development(especially in the case of Pierre, who we learn surprisingly little about, and Womack, whose righteous change of heart seems to come out of nowhere). There are rapid style changes (is this film a narrative? A documentary? A farce? A straight drama?), all handled with the grace of a donkey falling down a flight of stairs. The last 10 minutes are so disjointed and nonsensical that the viewer is left wondering who slipped what substance into their soda. Keenan Wayans is simply awful.

This satire doesn't know what kind of satire it wants to be. It occupies multiple places along the continuum between understated satire and full-blown silliness, but never finds a place of its own. In addition, Spike "Why whisper when you can shout?" Lee's lack of subtlety destroys this work completely.

There are some positives. Savion Glover and Tommy Davidson deliver with a bang. Lee lampoons both sides of the racial coin, often effectively. The inclusion of demeaning stereotypes from vintage film and cartoons is necessary and thorough--but very overdone by the end.

It's sad that this film falls so short of what it could have been in more capable hands. This is an important topic, and a film that desperately needs to be made...by someone else.

Read most of the reviews for this flick and you can tell that they are written by people who are saying more about how they feel about Spike Lee and racial issues than this movie. Here's something about me pertaining to this. I like Spike Lee, but I only like two of his films (before this one). His TV commercials are more entertaining than the rest of the flicks.

"Malcolm X" was the best, but most of that was based on the autobiography completed by Alex Haley. "Do The Right Thing" on the other hand was pure Spike Lee brilliance, but none of his films following that one (and "X") were worth viewing much... until this one.

Damon Wayans' performance was compelling, though the accent was a little too emphasized and annoying (It was Damon, not Keenan... you idiots!). Jada Pinkett's good in anything. As for Mos Def et. al.... Their characters might have been mostly illogical, but their contribution to the story was believable and powerful. The climax, in particular, literally had my heart pounding with an anticipation I can't remember having for anything in a motion picture.

I ain't a know-it-all wanna-be-intelligent-sounding film critic, but take it from me. If you don't like Spike, you won't like this one. In fact, this film and the story therein aren't for you. This is more for those who have an interest in the entertainment business with pertinence to racial relations. Particularly, if you think you don't see color 'cause one of your girlfriends or boyfriends were of a different race, you might need to check-out this one; not that this is the topic of the story, but your way of thinking is.

This film has good casting, a good script, an important topic, a compelling story, and a compelling soundtrack (particularly Stevie Wonder's "Misrepresented People").

The film itself, like the show it portrays, is a satire. This is an important point that the below reviewer seemed to miss.

One should understand that many characters (socialist rappers, Harvard sell-out, white dudes dying to be black) are themselves caricatures and stereotypes.

The reason why, for example, Wayans' acting is so forced and corny is because Spike seeks to mock the idea of someone who overhauls his personality to fit in with the "mainstream" (or whatever) world. He overacts because he plays a character who is himself acting.

From a comic standpoint, these characters succeed. Which, again, is a satiric device.

Excellent soundtrack.

This film sucks.

I had given up on Spike Lee after watching his previous films. Everytime I vowed not to waste anymore timing watching his garbage, I'd watch another, hoping I'd finally see a good film of his. So two years after it came out, I said ok, I'll give him ONE more chance and rented "Bamboozled." What a mistake.

The funny thing is, like with most of Lee's films, the premise of "Bamboozled" is actually quite promising and probably would have worked if only a capable filmmaker was behind it. (However, the fact that the whole country went ballistic when Ted Danson put on blackface that one time doesn't do the premise any good.) The truth is, Lee is a horrible filmmaker and that's why his movies bomb.

For whatever reason in the world, Spike Lee still has that "pimply-faced know-nothing NYU film student" mentality, where he feels if he does a few odd things with the camera and audio and goes for an "artsy" feel, that it'll be a success. Well, it isn't. It's a big failure. Many of Lee's fans (and maybe Lee himself?) may give that old line of "well, you just don't get it" or "it's over your head" or something similar. Well, that's a bunch of crap. There is nothing here to "get." "Bamboozled" is such a hack piece of garbage, it doesn't come across as "profound," "deep" or anything else the typical NYU film student feels he or she is so good at expressing. The movie just plain and simply sucks.

Most of the actors are decent enough, although a Wayans in the top role doesn't help either. Damon Wayans is straining so hard to get his part right, it hurts just watching him. Some may say, "he's camping it up." Well if he is, he's doing it very poorly.

Watching this movie felt like watching some kid from heck, not just NYU, any high school film class who threw a whole bunch of garbage together in the guise of "profoundness" and "deepness." There is no message in "Bamboozled" no matter how much someone wants to say there is. It appears the only reason this "film" was made in the first place, was as an excuse to remind the ten people who saw it in the theaters that there were such things as minstrel shows and people performing in blackface.

I wonder how many of the few viewers actually even realize that there actually was a real actor dubbed "Sleep 'N Eat" (more originality by Mr. Lee).

But, I'm glad I did finally see this film. Because it was definitely the slap in the face that finally convinced me never again to waste my time viewing any future Spike Lee films. He has to be the most talentless so-called "maker of films" out there today.