BAADASSSSS! is a 2003 American biopic, written, produced, directed by, and starring Mario Van Peebles. The film is based on the struggles of Van Peebles' father Melvin Van Peebles , as he attempts to film and distribute Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, a film that was widely credited with showing Hollywood that a viable African-American audience existed, and thus influencing the creation of the Blaxploitation genre. The film also stars Joy Bryant, Nia Long, Ossie Davis, Paul Rodriguez, Rainn Wilson, and Terry Crews. Various people appear as themselves, including Melvin Van Peebles and Bill... Cosby. The film received mostly favorable reviews, with a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 75/100 on Metacritic, which correlates to a favorable review. It was a commercial failure, however; at the box office, Baadasssss! made a little less than $400,000.
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