Despite stylish camerawork and sturdy acting, this lengthy indulgence succeeds neither as jazz movie nor as cautionary tale.
Comment
02/09/06
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
70
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:30
Fresh:21
Rotten:9
Average Rating:6/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 9 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Spike Lee ventures into the world of jazz music with this stylish romantic drama. Forced by his mother to study the trumpet, Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) has grown up to become the leader of a... [More]
Starring: Denzel Washington, Joie Lee, Cynda Williams, Spike Lee
Director: Spike Lee
Reviews for Mo' Better Blues
Top CriticIt’s tight, suspenseful, funny and packed with great music.
09/22/08
Top CriticDenzel, Wesley and Co are fine, but Mo' Better Blues hits too many bum notes.
09/22/08
Top CriticSpike Lee's creative film revolving around the difficulties modern men have in finding the proper balance between work and love in their lives.
01/15/02
Mo' Better Blues is not a great film, but it's an interesting one, which is almost as rare.
10/23/04
Top CriticMo' Better Blues, in thrall to the cliches of the star-is-born musicals of the past, is a stillborn academic exercise.
01/09/02
There's no getting around Lee's talent, but in this case his script could have used some polish -- or perhaps collaboration.
01/01/00
If Lee was striving to convey a fuller sense of the jazz musician's life, of the connections between black life and black music, or a deeper, more soulful feeling for the music itself, his efforts fall short.
01/01/00
From characters to camera angles, this story of a self-absorbed jazz trumpeter is one long cliche, the kind that might make his most loyal admirers wince and wonder, 'Spike, what happened?'
05/20/03
Top CriticCentering on the career of a jazz musician (well played by Denzel Washington, just before he became a star), this mid-range picture has nice production values but the drama is too diffuse, lacking the edge of Spike Lee's more overtly political works.
06/24/08
Though it's full of striking visual ideas and actorly turns, it never fully convinces.
09/22/08
Personal rather than social issues come to the fore in Mo' Better Blues, a Spike Lee personality piece dressed in jazz trappings that puffs itself up like Bird but doesn't really fly.
09/22/08
Top CriticFew will accuse Spike Lee's Mo' Better Blues of being a masterpiece. But it's still full of the things that make Spike Lee films, well, Spike Lee films. Full of the fun, full of the spirit.
01/01/00
For the only time in his remarkable career, Spike Lee has failed to tell it like it is.
05/12/01
Full of wonderful music, grand visuals, and melodramatic plot twists, the movie is laced with very funny moments, as well as interesting insights into the world of jazz and the plight of the dedicated musician.
09/22/08
Top CriticDenzel Washington really comes into his own in this one, as a struggling jazz musician. Worth a rental for his performance, alone!
07/25/02
Atmospheric character study by Lee with a bravely unlikable Denzel Washington.
09/09/04
No review available.
08/22/03
No review available.
04/07/04
Latest News for Mo' Better Blues
April 05, 2005:
Spike & Denzel to Team Up for a Fourth Flick
Blackfilm.com snagged an interesting quote from controversial filmmaker Spike Lee. The director was attending an after-party for Denzel Washington's Broadway opening of... More...
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