Frustrated when network brass reject his sitcom idea, producer Pierre Delacroix pitches the worst idea he can think of in an attempt to get fired: a 21st century minstrel show. The network not only airs it, but it becomes a smash hit.
Direction
Spike Lee at his most deliberately provocative.
Acting
Damon Wayans' alienating performance is the point.
Writing
Satire so sharp it draws blood.
Director
Spike Lee
Damon Wayans
Pierre Delacroix
Savion Glover
Manray / Mantan
Jada Pinkett Smith
Sloan Hopkins
Tommy Davidson
Womack / Sleep'n Eat
Michael Rapaport
Thomas Dunwitty
Thomas Jefferson Byrd
Honeycutt
Paul Mooney
Junebug
Gillian White
Verna
Yasiin Bey
Mau Mau: Big Blak Afrika
Gano Grills
Mau Mau: Double Blak
Charli Baltimore
Mau Mau: Smooth Blak
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film bombed at release but predicted reality TV's race-baiting economics and internet shock culture by decades.
Savion Glover's tap choreography intentionally echoed minstrel stages while asserting Black artistic excellence—a tension the film never resolves.
US
