Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee (writer)

Release Date:

3 August 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Tagline:

A Spike Lee joint.

Plot:

Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons...

Plot Keywords:

Trumpet | Directed By Co Star | Jazz Music | Star Died Before Release | Quintet

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Denzel Washington	...	Bleek Gilliam
Spike Lee	...	Giant
Wesley Snipes	...	Shadow Henderson (Sax)
Giancarlo Esposito	...	Left Hand Lacey (Piano)
Robin Harris	...	Butterbean Jones
Joie Lee	...	Indigo Downes
Bill Nunn	...	Bottom Hammer (Bass)
John Turturro	...	Moe Flatbush
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Big Stop Williams
Cynda Williams	...	Clarke Bentancourt
Nicholas Turturro	...	Josh Flatbush
Jeff 'Tain' Watts	...	Rhythm Jones (Druns)
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Madlock
Leonard L. Thomas	...	Rod
Charles Q. Murphy	...	Eggy

Also Known As:

A Love Supreme (USA) (working title)
Variations on the Mo' Better Blues (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

129 min | USA:130 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

141st Street, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Usage of the film's original title: "A Love Supreme", was denied by Alice Coltrane, the widow of John Coltrane, the composer of the four-movement composition.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the performance of Bleek's "Pop Top Urban 40 Funk Love ... Song", Bleek's headgear changes from hat to baseball cap.

Quotes:

Bleek: I may have been born yesterday, but I stayed up all night.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: A Star Is Burns (#6.18)" (1995)

Very Good, But Not On Par With Other Spike Work

In Spike Lee's fourth film, Denzel Washington proves early in his career that he is capable of being funny and romantic in a more modest film than Glory or Cry Freedom, the music is breezy and romantic and consistent, jazzy and colorful cinematography, and another characteristic Spike Lee touch, which is his gift for drawing from his actors stunningly realistic performances. In some ensemble scenes, the dialogue seems like improvisation. Maybe it is.

Mo' Better Blues is a good, steady, effective drama, a portrait of a complex and overwrought musician and the indecision and jealousy that gradually eat away at his life, but it lacks the passion and brazen provocative nature of nearly all of Spike Lee's other films.

The cast, once again, is brilliant. Denzel is very very very authentic, faithful, graphic, and lifelike. My brother is a jazz musician and I've met several of his fellow musicians. I'm seasoned when it comes to jazz musicians. Take my word for it, Denzel's performance is entirely true. Snipes is brilliantly, swaggeringly audacious. Joie Lee comprehensively draws our sympathy towards her sensitive, self-conscious character and away from the elegant and subtly compelling Cynda Williams. Spike Lee himself is one of the most compelling characters. Samuel L. Jackson entertains in one of his millions and billions of early bit roles.

If I were to say, "I'm in the mood for a Spike Lee joint," this would not be one of the first films I pick, but it's different and enthralling. I mean, it's directed by Spike Lee, so how can it not be?