Dad & son make a movie

IT'S NOT often that a son can confirm his father's status as a good wingman. But when you're Mandela Van Peebles, son of actor/director Mario Van Peebles, you have firsthand experience.

Seventeen-year-old Mandela is the star of his father's new film, "We the Party," opening in area theaters today, a teen throwback to epic teen party movies such as "Sixteen Candles" and "House Party." It's a coming-of-age story, featuring Mandela as Hendrix Sutton, one of five teens dealing with the pressures of growing up in the modern era. As research, Mario persuaded his kids (four of Mario's five have roles in the movie) to take him out to an underground dance club. Most teenagers would be reluctant to have their father partying with them, so Mandela suggested that Mario go undercover as their security guard.

Mario's dad, Melvin, the famed blaxploitation actor and director of "Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song," also has a cameo in the film. Mario said that as much as he's learned from his father, he learned just as much from his kids while shooting "We the Party" about what it's like to be a teenager in the 21st century. "With my kids, I always thought, don't be afraid to have a conversation with your kids about what society is facing. So if society is already hitting them with hyper-materialism and hyper-sexuality, it's OK to tell them organically that you can't buy a sense of self at the mall," Mario said.

Despite the raucous subject matter, both father and son were quick to point out that his movie had a message. "I see 'We the Party' as a nice fresh corn dog because it has a meaty moral inside and it's wrapped in this doughy bread that's easy to eat," Mandela said. "You sneak the message in there. It's like medicine in Sprite." n

Contact Molly Eichel at 215-854-5909 or eichelm@phillynews.com, or follow on Twitter @mollyeichel. Read her blog posts at www.philly.com/entertainment.