How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It) (2005)

Director:

Joe Angio

Writer:

Joe Angio (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Feature-length documentary on renegade filmmaker, novelist, musician and theater impresario, Melvin Van Peebles. |

Plot Keywords:

Melvin Van Peebles | Watermelon | Sweetback

Cast

Marva Allen	...	Herself
Emanuel Azenberg	...	Himself
Shelley R. Bonus	...	Herself
St. Claire Bourne	...	Himself
Hershel Dwellingham	...	Himself
Janine Evrad	...	Herself (as Janine Euvrard)
Gébé	...	Himself
Dick Hehmeyer	...	Newsreel Narrator (voice)
Gloria Jarecki	...	Herself
Henry Jarecki	...	Himself
Billy Jennings	...	Himself
Woodie King Jr.	...	Himself
Spike Lee	...	Himself
Madeleine Martineau	...	Herself
Richard Milner	...	Himself
Elvis Mitchell	...	Himself
Brent Nichols	...	Himself
Gordon Parks	...	Himself
John Roland	...	Himself
Gil Scott-Heron	...	Himself
Jeff Shaw	...	Himself
Teddy Stewart	...	Himself
Christian Thivat	...	Himself
Mario Van Peebles	...	Himself
Megan Van Peebles	...	Herself
Melvin Van Peebles	...	Himself
Jerry Weissman	...	Himself
Timothy White	...	Himself
Georges Wolinski	...	Himself

Runtime:

USA:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White | Color

Certification:

Australia:M

Company:

Breakfast at Noho LLC

Movie Connections:

Featured in "SexTV: Shafted: The Story of Blaxploitation Cinema (#8.18)" (2006)

Well made and entertaining documentary about Van Peebles

Rennaisance man Melvin Van Peebles is profiled in this exceptional documentary, which also looks at broader issues of race in America and Europe in terms of the conflicts within the black race concerning representation of values.

Van Peebles is best known for his revolutionary (in more than one sense) early 1970s film "Sweet Sweetback's Baadaaass Song" (see my comments on that film's page). Prior to seeing this film I was also aware of his work on Broadway but I had not seen footage of these shows, nor was I aware of his work in France prior to doing "Watermellon Man" and "Sweetback" in the USA. So this film is very educational concerning Van Peebles for anyone but perhaps his most dedicated fans. But what's really great is how it opens up our view of him as a human being, warts and all. I suppose some might find his attitude towards women to be admirable, but most will be either repulsed or amused. He apparently is quite open about the fact that he will not commit to a monogamous relationship. He keeps his love life very organized however -- his daughter says that he has one girl for Tuesday night, another for Wednesday night -- "and if you're Teusday night's girl, you better not call on Wednesday".

Of course the film features the predictable array of talking heads associated with black music and film -- Gil Scott-Herron, Spike Lee, Elvis Mitchell, Gordon Parks -- talking about how influential Van Peebles was. But I really thought the best aspect of the film was the interviews with Van Peebles' children and the scenes showing Van Peebles' at work on his film "Le Conte du ventre plein" (US title: Bellyfull) and working in the studio on the records.

The film takes special notice of Van Peebles' anti-establishment humor -- and by that I mean both anti-white and anti-black establishment. He delights in making a mockery of black academia and the black intelligentsia's obsession with avoiding stereotypes and presenting the black man in a "positive" light. Van Peebles' attitude is similar to that expressed later by black comedians from Pryor to Chappelle (with his famous "fried chicken" sketch in particular) -- "If I like eating watermelon, why shouldn't I eat the watermelon and enjoy it? Why should I be ashamed of who I am?" Van Peebles talks about buying a spray can of watermelon scented aerosol. He would spray it in his office before white associates would come by. Then they would take a few sniffs and say "wow, Mel, that smells like..... (awkward pause).... cantaloupes". Van Peebles even at his current advanced age never seems to cease to delight at "goosing" people's preconceptions and shocking them out of their sensibilities.

An excellent bio-doc -- should be entertaining and informative to Van Peebles' fans and should also introduce a great number of people to this man's pioneering work.