6.0/10
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32 user 12 critic

Poetic Justice (1993)

R | | Drama, Romance | 23 July 1993 (USA)
Poetic Justice Poster
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In this film, we see the world through the eyes of main character Justice, 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 | See full cast & crew »
51
Reviews
Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 4 nominations. See more awards »

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Cast

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

After witnessing the murder of her first and only boyfriend, young Justice decides to forget about college and become a South Central Los Angeles 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 whom she has not gotten along with 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. Written by <poetic_robert@hotmail.com>

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

african american | poetry | poet | ghetto | urban setting | See All (100) »

Taglines:

1 Woman. 1 Man. 1 Journey 2 Love. See more »

Genres:

Drama | Romance

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive strong language, and for violence and sexuality | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 July 1993 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Fugir do Bairro See more »

Filming Locations:

Simi Valley Drive-In, Simi Valley, California, USA See more »
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Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,728,455, 25 July 1993, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$27,515,786
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures Corporation,New Deal Productions,Nickel See more »
Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR | SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1
See full technical specs »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

The poetry that Justice writes was actually written by Maya Angelou. 'Maya Angelo' makes a cameo appearance as Aunt June. See more »

Quotes

Justice: They still gonna fuck you up.
Chicago: Get your ass in the truck.
Iesha: Shut up, Chicago.
Lucky: Well, frankly my dear, I don't give a fuck.
See more »

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. See more »

Connections

Features Felix the Cat (1958) See more »

Soundtracks

Never Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer
Written by Stevie Wonder and Syreeta (as Syreeta Wright)
Performed by Stevie Wonder
Courtesy of Motown Record Company LP
By Arrangement with PolyGram Special Markets
See more »

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User Reviews

not bad at all...
28 June 2004 | by whoTheFuqRyou – See all my reviews

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
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