Poetic Justice (1993)

In this movie, we see the world through the eyes of main character Justice (Janet Jackson), a young African-American poet. A mail carrier invites a few friends along for a long overnight delivery run.

Director:

John Singleton

Writer:

John Singleton

Stars:

Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Khandi Alexander	...	Simone
Maya Angelou	...	Aunt June
Ché J. Avery	...	Thug #2
Lloyd Avery II	...	Thug #1
Kimberly Brooks	...	Kim
Rico Bueno	...	Ticket Taker
Maia Campbell	...	Shante
Jeff Cantrel	...	Policeman #4
Michael Colyar	...	Panhandler
Kina Cosper	...	Female Cousin (as Kina V. Cosper)
John Cothran	...	Uncle Earl (as John Cothran Jr.)
Dina D.	...	Dina
Joe Dalu	...	Policeman #7
James Deeth	...	Helicopter Pilot
Norma Donaldson	...	Aunt May

Storyline

After witnessing the murder of her first and only boyfriend, young Justice (Janet Jackson) decides to forget about college and become a South Central Los Angeles, California hairdresser. Avoiding friends, the only way for her to cope with her depression is by composing beautiful poetry. On her way to a convention in Oakland, she is forced to ride with an independent-minded postal worker with whom she has not gotten along in the past. After various arguments between them and their friends, they start to discover that their thoughts on violence, socially and domestically, are the same. Justice may finally feel that she is not as alone as before.

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Plot Keywords:

african american | poetry | poet | ghetto | urban setting | 

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Taglines:

Fate brought them together. Anger kept them apart. But for both of them, the road ahead was the only way to leave the pain behind.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, and for violence and sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kim Fields auditioned for the role of Iesha and the lead role of Justice.

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Quotes

Justice: [to Lucky] I'm a black woman! I deserve respect!

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Alternate Versions

In the Australian Free-to-Air vision. The Film had about 20mins cut out of it. Even though it was show at 11:50pm Jan 2001. Just about all swearing and fight sceens were taken out.

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Connections

Referenced in The Cleveland Show: The Men in Me (2012)

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Soundtracks

Well Alright
Written by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (as Babyface)
Produced by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (as Babyface), L.A. Reid and Daryl Simmons
Performed by Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds (as Babyface)
Courtesy of Epic Records

User Reviews

not bad at all...

Poetic Justice is an urban film but within this catgory it stands out from alot of them in its own way. The movie uses some very interesting elements that I was familiar with and like most urban films they use realistic characters. The camerawork is nothing new but some of it is really good to look at. Janet Jackson is good as the somewhat uptight poet/hairdresser who is mourning the loss of her lover while on a night out with him as is Tupac in a rather different role from the ones he has in Juice, Bullet and Above The Rim. Not only is the role different but as a man it's impossible to not relate to him as you see his struggles in his life including one powerful scene in which he catches his baby's mother smokin' crack and having other men in his daughter's presence - I thought this worked great because I know how I'd feel if I had a kid and my baby's mother is bringing other men around my kid: I wouldn't be too happy. The road trip is where you begin to see all the characters(Pac Shakur, Janet Jackson, Regina King and Joe Torry) develop and John Singleton wastes little time doing that during that time...

Poetic Justice is a movie deserving alot more credit than it's getting but too bad there are people out there with stupid stereotypical assumptions so idiotic it can get someone angry

8/10

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 July 1993 (USA)

Also Known As:

Poetic Justice

Filming Locations:

Simi Valley Drive-In, Simi Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,728,455, 25 July 1993

Gross USA:

$27,515,786

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$27,515,786

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, New Deal Productions, Nickel

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1