Poetic Justice
Still grieving after the murder of her boyfriend, hairdresser Justice writes poetry to deal with the pain of her loss. Unable to get to Oakland to attend a convention because of her broken-down car, Justice gets a lift with her friend, Iesha, and Iesha's postal worker boyfriend, Chicago. Along for the ride is Chicago's co-worker, Lucky, to whom Justice grows close after some initial problems. But is she ready to open her heart again?
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- Cast:
- Janet Jackson , Tupac Shakur , Regina King , Joe Torry , Tyra Ferrell , Roger Guenveur Smith , Maya Angelou
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Reviews
Very best movie i ever watch
Save your money for something good and enjoyable
I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.
Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Silly tired ass clichéd manufactured mechanism. A series of words forced together to be passed off as dialog in a boring meaningless movie. Preaching self-absorbed--Identity Politics is bullsh*t, identity is an illusion, that's a biological fact--anyways this movie is a product of sad wishful thinking. The 1990's as awesome as the grunge scene was, was a decade built around false hope. Poetic Justice is the perfect metaphor for the 90's failings, desperate clinging to hope rather than actually doing something-catch phrased based reasoning- unfailing faith in people being able to be more than just sh*t throwing apes. At least the 90's gave us Pavement- maybe someone's gonna save me my heart is made of gravy.
Justice (Janet Jackson) loses her boyfriend when someone shots him right in front of her on a date at the drive-thru. It's the violent world of South Central L.A. She withdraws into her hairdressing job and her poetry. Lucky (Tupac Shakur) is a postal carrier who is sweet on her. His ex is a drug addict whom he has a daughter with. Going to the hair show convention in Oakland, Justice has to ride with Lucky in his mail truck. He's going to his friends to work on his music. They argue. He throws her off his truck. And then they start to talk to each other.This is more of a romance within the gritty backdrop of violence. It's a surprising follow up to director John Singleton's debut 'Boyz n the Hood'. Justice is an angry character. Janet Jackson doesn't play it quirky or lightly. She is just bitter. She doesn't have the sweetness. Tupac shows that he was a good actor. It's a fairly safe romance. I like the minutia of everyday life. I don't really buy the romance. The chemistry is slightly off. I think it's Janet, but it's not fatal. It doesn't help that I find the poetry annoying. Her grumpiness just got me down.
I am a white man over the age of 50, so this film wasn't really made for me. That doesn't mean there wasn't anything here, and I could see that this was a quality production.This film had occasional laughs, which was good because it could get very depressing at times.I really liked the family reunion, where the movie's main characters pretended to be part of the family just to get some free food and found themselves being accepted rather than questioned. I got the impression they might come back someday just because they liked being with these people. This is also where Maya Angelou delivered an elegant performance. Yes, this film was worthy of her, and she added something to it.As for her poetry, not my style. Janet Jackson did a great job reading it offscreen, but again, not by sort of thing. For many people, this will be a wonderful part of the movie.One of my favorite parts of the film was the scene at the gas station/convenience store, one of the few places I heard recorded music that appealed to me (Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man").Actually, a lot of the background music was smooth jazz with violins or synthesizers that pass for violins. It was actually kind of pleasant compared to the rap and other styles the main characters liked.Family was important here. Although Jackson's character didn't seem to have anyone except her cat, at least she had friends and a job. I did like the cat and its friends, in the one scene.Chicago was probably my favorite character. He was funny and likable, most of the time.Janet Jackson has a nice smile and she can have a nice personality when it is called for. Sometimes here, she had to be depressed or angry. That's fine. She did it well.And this is my third or fourth time seeing the talents of 2Pac, who was taken away too soon. Although it was not necessarily his finest work, he did a good job here.I mostly know Regina King from "227". Has it really been that long? She was so much older even here, but she did a good job. Beautiful mountains and magnificent bridges added to the scenery. Some scenes, and not necessarily pleasant ones, let us enjoy these longer.These people live hard lives and have tragedy all around them. That's why this is not an easy movie to watch. But having family around means a lot.It may not be for you, but if you need to get outside your comfort zone, this will be a worthwhile experience.
Poetic Justice is a great movie. It's not the follow up that wasn't as strong as it should have been for someone of Singelton calibar but it's still a good movie. Jackson and Shakur made their mark in this movie and keeps your attention. Check this out with Sineglton's other films in the ghetto trilogy, Boyz N The Hood &Baby Boy.