A playful documentary on the life and varied career of Melvin Van Peebles, who   went from a young African-American child in Chicago to a stint in the air        force to writing French-language novels to being a rap progenitor and a Wall     Street trader. This is all not to mention his film work, having directed the   revolutionary grindhouse gem Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song. Full of   archival footage and stories from the likes of Spike Lee, Mario Van Peebles,   and Gil Scott-Heron, "How to Eat ventures well beyond MVP's cinematic      output...Far from fading quietly into the lifetime-achievement mists, Melvin   Van Peebles has lately come to be recognized as the very essence of cool"      Joe Angio---USA---2005---85 mins.