Bamboozled

It’s about time that somebody fires a big, fat bazooka into the face of that embarrassing, repugnant piece of entertainment known as the minstrel show. Director Spike Lee, no doubt working on a shoe-string budget, crafts a scary, funny, nasty shot at American culture and entertainment, skewering everyone from Al Jolson on through today’s UPN network. A television executive (Damon Wayans), disgusted with entertainment’s depiction of African Americans, tries to bury a network by proposing a modern minstrel show, but his plan backfires as the nation eats it up. The film goes a little off-target in its last reel, but Lee makes a strong statement with this movie, possibly the boldest film of his career.