Jungle Fever
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.28 You Save: $5.71 (57%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.13 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of Jungle Fever
Movie Review: Jungle Fever
Summary: 4 Stars
A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse. Jungle Fever is one of the Lee movies that is worth seeing, that may prove on a repeat viewing to bring even more thought than previous. It's energetic, somber, occasionally funny and shocking in equal measure.
Movie Review: Wesley is so good
Summary: 4 Stars
He has so much talent, a terrific build, handsome, he looks like he really takes good care of himself. And you never hear anything bad about him in the tabloids. I really enjoyed this movie, not for the story, I just really enjoyed looking at Wesley he should do more nude scenes, he certainly has the body for it. YumMovie Review: Not quite catching the fever...
Summary: 3 Stars
PLEASE NOTE:
In preparing to write my own review for this film I happened to read The New Yorker's review posted on this site and realized that it took the words right out of my mouth, so please, forgive me if this sounds a tad repetitious.
On with the review...
I finally got around to watching `Jungle Fever' last week. I have to admit that all week I've been singing `Jungle Fever' to just about everyone I see, and at times even to myself (that song is just so catchy) but when it came to actually dissecting the film I realized that as a whole there isn't much to remember. Knowing that the basis of this film is a heated affair between a married black man and his white (Italian) co-worker you'd think that there would be a lot to write home about, but the affair is really only here to spark heated debate about whether or not the white women are stealing the black men. Once Flipper (yeah, that's his `real' name) and Angela `do the deed' they seem to become detached and uninterested with one another and the film spars off in another direction completely.
Spike Lee has always been a director for racial controversy, and for the most part his studies work (they tower above the mediocrity that is Tyler Perry, that's for sure) but `Jungle Fever' seems to get lost in its own opinions and ideals. Lee doesn't seem to be able to transfer his feelings on the subject of `race relations' in a coherent and tactful way. Everyone's conversations on the matter are completely one sided and only prove to further embellish stereotypes, which is not something I expect from Spike Lee's work.
In moments, `Jungle Fever' reaches `Crash' depths of racial shallowness. What `Jungle Fever' does have on its side is its age. Whereas `Crash' was trying to paint every situation as racism in a time that has advanced so much in that department, `Jungle Fever' has the advantage of being from a time (early 90's) when racism was a lot more prevalent and so when Flipper is passed over for partner because of his skin color it is believable.
That said; it still tends to go a little too far in moments.
In fact, when you remove the stereotypes and racial approach to the film you find the most intriguing and effective aspect of the film; Flipper's brother Gator (I know, seriously?). Gator is a crackhead living on the street and constantly taking advantage of his family. While his story has nothing to do with `interracial dating' he actually makes the loudest statement in the film. In fact, his subplot is by far the most interesting, and his interactions with his mother and Flipper are the highlights of the film.
The performances here are also very well done. Samuel L. Jackson is the scene stealer (and really should have been Oscar nominated for this) as Gator. He has a difficult job of making his `humorous' character more than just a walking cliché, and he does just so (especially as his characters sub-plot reaches its climax). Ruby Dee is also magnificent as Lucinda, Gator and Flipper's mother. The scene at the dinner table with Flipper and Angie is brilliant, especially when she leaves to breakdown in the kitchen. John Turturro and Frank Vincent and Anthony Quinn and Veronica Webb all deliver memorable supporting performances and Lonette McKee is sympathetic as Flipper's jilted wife. Spike Lee should stay behind the camera for he's not nearly as charismatic in front of it, and while Ossie Davis's character is somewhat the pinnacle of the films morale he delivers his lines in such an excruciatingly dry manor that I found him a bore.
And then there is Halle Berry in one of the funniest cameo performances I've ever seen; period.
That leaves us with Wesley Snipes and Annabella Sciorra, the films stars. Snipes is not the greatest of actors. He's an action buff who has a hard time joggling a weighty film (in my opinion obviously). Here he does better than I expected, but not as good as he should have. He seems almost disinterested with Angie, his eyes parading this guilt that makes his relationship with her feel forced and faux. Sciorra was drastically different, engaging her character marvelously. Despite the fact that Lee grew tired of the interracial relationship almost as soon as it began, Sciorra never grows tired of fleshing out her character. Every time she is on the screen she is working it, and doing so brilliantly.
The film is not a brilliant character study, but it works to a certain extent. I don't think that it carries Lee's message in the proper way, and at times can come off amateurish in its delivery (the dialog is a mess in parts). Some brilliant performances elevate the script, and the overall feel of the film is not one of total disappointment. I can see why so many like this movie, but truth be told, it could have been a masterpiece.
Movie Review: Good Film/Good Story/Classic Spike Lee
Summary: 3 Stars
We were in Nag's Head, North Carolina during the week of Memorial Day. We rented movies every day. In the video store, in the "cult classics" section I found a Spike Lee movie (It was Jungle Fever). I asked incredulously why Spike Lee was in the cult section. The owner said that hardly anyone ever rents Spike Lee movies down there.I happen to like Spike Lee movies. All of them. I know a number of people emphatically don't and I don't know why. What I appreciate about Spike Lee movies is that he does not rely on sex, violence, science fiction or special effects as his primary means of entertaining people, although you may sex and violence in his movies. Spike Lee makes movies the old-fashioned way, he tells a story. And he has something to say.
He makes what I think are very good observations about race relations and the faults of both the black and white communities. I suspect that many of the people who don't like Spike's movies are people who are uncomfortable with the message.
Jungle Fever is about a married middle class black architect in Manhattan who has an affair with a young Italian American girl from BayRidge, Brooklyn.
The movie is loaded with acting talent: Wesley Snipes, the late Anthony Quinn, Ossie Davis, Samuel L. Jackson, John Turturro (One of my favorite actors-57 movies-Barton Fink), Halle Berry (the flattest, thinnest tummy in Hollywood now, but not in this movie. Do I suspect liposuction?), Nicholas Turturro (John's brother-the Hispanic Detective in NYPD Blue. I don't like him. He went Hollywood. The Turturro's are from Brooklyn. John has an apartment there and still rides the subway.), Michael Imperioli (Christopher on The Sopranos, Queen Latifah (she play a waitress with an attitude, in a scene in the restaurant Silvia's in Harlem. I've always liked Queen Latifah.), Danny Aielo, and Ruby Dee. Doubtless you will recognize other actors that don't mean anything to me.
I sort of have the same problem with my video store here as they have in Nag's Head. I can't even get She' Gotta Have it and School Daze, which are his first two movies.
I find all of Spike's movies 100% credible. Spike Lee is doing heavy social criticism and making entertaining movies. I wonder why no one else is? Who says movies these days are trash? The timing of the movie was perfect. Dinkins beat Giuliani for mayor. A black police commissioner. Race murders in Bensonhust, Howard Beach.. Police brutality on blacks. Korean grocers in bad neighborhoods working 20 hours a day and being boycotted by black. 2,000 murder a year. Crack, prostitution everywhere.
Movie Review: Spike Showed Truth With This Film
Summary: 3 Stars
First of all, I am a black female who could care less if someone dates out their race. And I don't know if Spike is a racist or not (because he has dated white women and his father is married to a white woman). But one thing is clear; SOME black people do get offended when they see a black man with a white woman. I have personally seen black women confront black men for dating white women and I have seen black men act crazy when they see a black woman with a white man. In my opinion, Spike showed reality in this film, whether you agree with it or not. However, I don't like this film because it was so unfocused to me. There were too many things going on and in the end, it all seemed useless. I guess Spike wanted to get people talking about race and if that was his goal, then he achieved it. Personally, what I find most offensive and racist is the person who is playing the lead character. He (Snipes) made nasty comments about black women to a black magazine, which explains why his popularity has gone down.