Interesteg What makes it different from others?

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Brenda The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Francene Odetta It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

kirby-styles What does the 'S' stand for in B*A*P*S? That's what I thought. Maybe I'll take a stab at it: Black American Princess Ss, Black American Princesses S, Black American Princesses Scesses, Black American Prin Sesses, Black American Princesses SomeOtherWord, Black American Princesses SmorePrincesses, Black American Princesses SouthWestAirlines, Black American Princesses Skype, Black American Princesses ShawshankRedemption, Black American Princesses Shakaka, Black American Princesses SHI-CA-GO! You're outta here! And since I need 10 lines to make this review ready for submission, here we go again: What does the 'S' stand for in B*A*P*S? That's what I thought. Maybe I'll take a stab at it: Black American Princess Ss, Black American Princesses S, Black American Princesses Scesses, Black American Prin Sesses, Black American Princesses SomeOtherWord, Black American Princesses SmorePrincesses, Black American Princesses SouthWestAirlines, Black American Princesses Skype, Black American Princesses ShawshankRedemption, Black American Princesses Shakaka, Black American Princesses SHI-CA-GO! You're outta here!

James Hitchcock A "bap" is, in British usage at least, a type of bread roll; in slang it can also be used to mean "breast". This film is not, however, either soft-core porn or set in the baking industry. Here the word is an acronym for "Black American Princess". The "B*A*P*S" of the title are Nisi (it's short for Denise)and her best friend Mickey, two black girls from Georgia who fly to Los Angeles to take part in a dancing contest. They don't win, but while they are in the city they are approached by a stranger who makes them a curious proposition. He tells them that he represents an elderly, dying, millionaire, Donald Blakemore, who many years ago was in love with Lily, his family's black maid. The deal is that Nisi will pose as Lily's granddaughter, in return for which she and Mickey will receive $10,000 and free board at the old man's mansion. The girls are so terminally naive they don't realise that this is all a scam and that they are being used as pawns in a scheme by Blakemore's nephew Isaac to defraud his uncle of his wealth.The term "Black American Princess", coined on the analogy of "Jewish American Princess", is sometimes used to describe young African-American women from wealthy, cultured backgrounds. Its use in this film, however, is deliberately ironic. Both Nisi and Mickey are from working-class backgrounds (Nisi is a waitress, Mickey a hairdresser) and neither can be described as cultured. Indeed, the film has been criticised by some African-Americans for perpetuating the stereotype of working-class black girls as loud, vulgar and tasteless. The film should have received special Razzie nominations for "worst costume design" and, even more "worst hairstyles". Halle Berry, who stars as Nisi, is one of the world's most beautiful women, but even she finds it difficult to look attractive wearing a fluorescent orange trouser suit and with bleached blonde hair piled high on her head. The twist is that at the end of the film the girls become real "princesses" when Blakemore leaves them a legacy to reward them for the happiness they have brought into his life. With the benefits of their new-found wealth they abandon their gold teeth and false nails and dress more stylishly.The film has been described as a rags-to-riches fairytale along the lines of "Cinderella", although I preferred one reviewer's comparison with "Pygmalion"; Cinderella achieved her good fortune by marrying a prince, whereas at the end of this film Nisi and Mickey return to their original boyfriends in Georgia. For all their vulgarity and lack of class, the girls are depicted as decent and kind-hearted, and therefore deserving of their unexpected good fortune. This characterisation, however, was never really convincing. Any woman who is offered a large sum of money to adopt a false identity really ought to realise that she is being used as part of some dishonest scheme; that Nisi fails to do so suggests she must be either terminally naive or terminally stupid.A number of good films have been made on the "Cinderella" or "Pygmalion" themes, such as "My Fair Lady" or "Pretty Woman", but unfortunately "B*A*P*s" is not one of them. "Catwoman" (for which she won a "Worst Actress" Razzie to go with her "Best Actress" Oscar for "Monster's Ball") is normally cited as Halle Berry's worst movie, but I found "B*A*P"s" far worse. "Catwoman" may be nonsense, but at least it is enjoyable nonsense, whereas "B*A*P*s" is a vulgar, tacky and witless comedy. There is very little humour in the script; you know that the scriptwriters are desperate when they have to resort to that old chestnut about the girl who is so unsophisticated she doesn't even realise what a bidet is for. The film was simply a waste of the talents of all those involved. Natalie Desselle, who plays Mickey, would not, on the evidence of this film, seem to have much talent to waste, but several of the others- not only Berry, but also Martin Landau as Blakemore and the late Ian Richardson as his stuffy butler Manley- deserved better than this. 3/10

tedg Spoilers herein.Projects like this start with the notion of self-parody. You create funny characters that carry a funny world with them. Townsend does a good job at this, with the mannerisms so over the top you are aware of the actresses at every moment. TeeVee skits can work on this alone with no story. But you need a story to sell a movie.Here we have a pretty lame execution on the story.The interesting thing here is seeing Halle Berry before fame and Oscar. She's not really an actress with a lot of tools. Instead, she wears just a few attitudes. The same few here are all that were available in `Monster's Ball,' but they are much more apt here - that's because the idea is to make fun of people who act life roles badly. Naturally, they lose all the trashy affect by the end of the movie all they way to disappearing gold teeth. Just so we know they were only fooling.Despite this, Landau has a pretty masterful death scene. Ian Richardson. Real acting here.Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.

bob the moo 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!