Mo' Better Blues (1990)

Jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic life.

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee

Stars:

Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes

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

Storyline

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. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. The story of Bleek's and Shadow's friendly rivalry on stage which spills into their professional relationship and threatens to tear apart the quartet.

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Plot Keywords:

trumpet | friend | stage | jazz | rage | 

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Taglines:

A Spike Lee joint.

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Genres:

Drama | Music

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 August 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Love Supreme

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$10,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$16,153,600 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Wesley Snipes' character, Shadow, purchases a stack of John Coltrane CD's with an American Express card. When he shows his American Express card he smiles and says: "American Express. Gold card, pow. Been a member since 1989". In 1989, Snipes had another encounter with the American Express credit card, in the movie Major League. Snipes' character, Willie Hayes, acts in a commercial for American Express in which he slides into home saying "American Express, don't steal home without it".

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Clarke: 'Cause mo better makes it mo better.

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Crazy Credits

Flavor Flave of the rap group Public Enemy spells out the letters in "Universal" as the studio logo appears on the screen.

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Connections

Referenced in The Directors: The Films of Spike Lee (2000)

User Reviews

all dressed up with nowhere to go

Spike Lee's latest 'joint' is a jazz variation of 'She's Gotta Have It', with the genders reversed: maladjusted trumpeter Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) juggles two lovers while indulging an almost neurotic addiction to his music. His compulsive behavior is, presumably, a consequence of strict childhood practice habits, but if all work and no play have made Bleek a dull boy, the same can't be said of the film itself: Lee's self-conscious homage to music and fatherhood suffers from a dizzy overabundance of distracting, Scorsese-influenced 'style'. The film has been criticized for its stereotypical supporting roles, but the primary characters are likewise only skin deep. Except for some early childhood Freudian motivation, Bleek remains more or less a cipher, and his contrived, fantasy redemption (after a series of false endings, each one more lame than the last) seems tacked on only to provide a neat, symmetrical resolution.