B*A*P*S

Oddly enough, then I had actually never heard about this 1997 comedy titled "B*A*P*S" form writer Troy Byer and director Robert Townsend. I happened to stumble upon it by random chance here in 2023, and with it being a movie that I never seen, much less heard about, of course I opted to check it out.

I was rather surprised with the cast ensemble in the movie, with the likes of Halle Berry and Martin Landau on the cast list, alongside with an abundance of celebrities portraying themselves in the movie as well.

The storyline in "B*A*P*S", as written by Troy Byer, was pretty straight forward. It was actually entertaining enough for what it turned out to be and there were some funny and nice moments throughout the course of the 91 minutes that the movie ran for. It isn't, however, a movie that warrants more than a single viewing for me, as the storyline just didn't have all that much to offer.

It was nice to see Halle Berry on the screen, though I would never have imagined her playing something like the Nisi character in the movie. Martin Landau gave his usual charm to the screen and he was nicely casted for the movie. I wasn't familiar with actress Natalie Desselle Reid, but she was also quite good on the screen.

Watchable for what it was, "B*A*P*S" is a fair enough comedy good enough for a single viewing.

My rating of "B*A*P*S" lands on a five out of ten stars.

This movie, while not being a piece of cinematic masterpiece, is not nearly as bad as the rating suggests.... True, most of the characters in the film are completely predictable, but you need to look beyond the "tacky" veneer to see the true person inside. The same could be said for the movie, itself. Sure, on the surface, Nisi & Mickey are scammers from the git go, but, they've got lots of heart & soul.... And, Mr. Blakemore is not as naive or lost as you may think. He sees the beauty beneath the beauties in this film..... It's a growth experience for all involved... Learning to open up and accept people for who they are, not what they seem... Just like this movie! Shame on all of you for beating up on Townsend, Barry, Landau and the rest! Shame!!!! Give it a try.... What's the most it can cost? A few bucks?

Just watched this on USA. Not bad. It was very lighthearted, and to see Halle with a gold tooth was a trip.

Not pretentious at all - accomplished what they wanted to - Makes you smile.

Sure it's not "deep" but it is full of sight gags and it's hilarious. The scene at "The Gold Tooth" nightclub, the over-the-top hairdos, and the scene in the line for tryouts in the music video is nothing short of a gut-buster are only a smattering of the laughs you'll have. It is a heart-warming movie that you can watch over and over. PLUS, Halle Berry is such a BABE! So, lighten up and watch it... it beats the copycat 'Booty Call'.

Nisi and Mickey travel into LA to audition for a music video as dancers. They fail the audition but are hired by a man to pose as the granddaughters of rich Mr Blakemore. However the man's son Isaac appears to have more in mind that just this as the two countrified, black princesses stumble their way around in a rich man's world.

It's hard to believe – when watching Halle Berry collected the best actress Oscar in 2002 than only a few years earlier she was in a dog like this! The story is almost a black Pygmalion in it's rags to riches type setting. It's possible to see how it might have worked – but I'm afraid it didn't work at all. The story is unimportant if the laughs come fast and thick….however I barely smiled once. The level of comedy is aimed at an audience who laugh simply because a character talks like a guest on Jerry Springer, ie squealing and yelling `girrrrrrrl!' etc. The comedy never gets above this – it's tacky and silly.

Backing this up is Berry and Desselle. Deselle is terrible – simply hamming up her `blackness' – it's amazing that black audiences are happy with stereotypes and caricatures like this. Berry tries but is poor, mainly due to the material but also because she isn't a tacky country ho! It's amazing that the makers of this film manage to make this classy lady look cheap and ugly by sticking her in gold teeth, cheap clothes and tacky personality. Landau is embarrassing – at times you can see him close his eyes and just thinking of his Ed Wood Oscar! The only one that comes off well is Richardson's Manley – although he is a white Jeffery (Fresh Prince). The list of black cameos (Rodman, Leon, LL Cool J, several MTV vee-jays) don't actual add interest other than to make you wonder how so many managed to get involved in this.

Overall this is not so much bad as just plain embarrassing for all involved. It shows Berry's talent that she came out of this and managed to further her career. Zero laughs, zero interest – a million cringes, what a load of BAPS!