Jungle Fever

Jungle Fever

1991
Romance, Drama
2h 12m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 48.46% from 484 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(484)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 07 Feb 2018
70
54th
Not my favourite Spike movie. Heavy handed is a crit that is often leveled at spike unfairly (and usually by white ppl who don't want to think he's actually right) but i think within this film that is a correct thing to say. Looks great tho and has some amazing performances.
Rated 16 Mar 2010
2
33rd
Was I supposed to learn something?
Rated 21 Dec 2012
4
55th
Those complaining of a forced delivery in Spike's earlier treatments of race relations will be in for a real treat. I'm kind of on the fence in regards to the end result. It's almost admirable how Lee sets up a normal narrative only to pull it out from under us and reveal basically every single character as varying shades of flawed, generally unlikeable, insecure, and of course the word of the day - racist; but tiring, as well. Oh, and one of the worst endings ever. Yeah. Wow.
Rated 23 Sep 2021
50
9th
This film exemplifies Spike Lee's persistent problem of overextending himself artistically. The picture attempts to be three movies simultaneously as a narrative, documentary, music video, and PSA. The biggest disservice is to the compelling subplot of a family dealing with a drug addict member--which could've been its own movie. Additionally the sexism is cringeworthy, Wesley Snipes is miscast as an office worker, and that ending is laughably bad. While admirable, it should be avoided.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
55
53rd
Score based on distant memory.
Rated 24 Jun 2012
90
83rd
Another distinctly vibrant concoction from Lee; superbly acted by Snipes (never better), Davis, Dee and an unforgettable Jackson in support. Berry also makes a strong impression in her brief appearance. Far 'softer' than usual for Lee, but still packs a mighty punch in its observations of how no party is innocent of racist generalisations. Minor niggles: the Snipes-Sciorra affair is not as well developed as it could be, and song soundtrack is oddly mixed so that it overly dominates the dialogue.
Rated 01 Jun 2008
60
62nd
Pretty good.
Rated 02 Oct 2008
70
61st
It's been awhile but I only the okay performances from the two leads. The Mockumentary "Sex, shock and censorship" sends up Spike Lee movies magnificently.
Rated 16 May 2012
17
4th
A very muddled film. Shot in a fairly conservative style for Lee and with performances which aren't always consistent, the film tries to fit in too much into too little time. The subplot concerning Gator, played excellently by Samuel L. Jackson, is more interesting than the main plot and could easily have been from a separate film. It raises important issues but the film feels dated and the plotting is a mess. I can't tell if the film wanted to be a satire or a tragedy - too many tonal shifts.
Rated 17 Sep 2007
65
49th
strong but uneven work
Rated 14 Aug 2007
6
70th
A tolerable racial drama! Love John Turturro.
Rated 11 Apr 2009
45
6th
A big ball of hate that feels absurdly misguided and outdated. Lee exaggerrates the issues to ridiculous extremes. Most of these characters feel more like paranoid nightmares than actual people. The subplot with the crackhead brother was somewhat clichéd but far more interesting, although it seemed to belong to entirely different film. Also, the ending is horrible, and the opening is even worse. But at least the dialogue is fairly well-written, and the performances are all pretty good.
Rated 30 Jan 2019
60
32nd
A lot more amateurish than even his earliest stuff. Characters feel like they're built around the social messages instead of the other way around.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
59
24th
Interesting failure.
Rated 17 Jul 2009
78
88th
Great performances from a number of great actors. Nice pacing and style. The best aspect by far was the script. Sure, most people wouldn't say out loud the things that are said out loud in this film. (If all they did on screen was shift their eyes around and look awkward it would be as boring and pointless as The Good Shepherd.) What we end up with is a number of caricatures clearly rooted in reality but deliberately exaggerated for the purposes of the film. Overall it works pretty well.
Rated 20 Nov 2008
6
55th
Decent if not a bit ridiculous. Could be Samuel L. Jackson's best performance. Seriously, he is awesome in this.
Rated 06 Jan 2011
20
2nd
Spike Lee, talentless bum.
Rated 09 May 2011
74
56th
The acting is good. There is a lot of humor and a interesting story. The big mistake in this movie is the soundtrack. I had this feeling that Lee wanted to back up the Italian (Caucasian) part of the story with a parodic 'white music' avant-garde kind of soundtrack. As a contrast with the black soul music. The 'joke' works a bit, but for the biggest part was it very annoying and distracting from the subtle acting. I guess Stevie Wonder was too big to criticise or to fade out when needed.
Rated 01 Mar 2009
61
49th
Cool movie
Rated 12 Jan 2018
92
94th
A powerhouse of a journey through one case of infidelity, a topic I find particularly tricky in fiction, but is handled in an intelligent and entertaining manner by Lee. The acting from all is outstanding (Wesley Snipes, what the hell happened to you??!), and SLJ shines in his crack addict role ("I like getting high!"). Like some masterpieces, it's fairly sloppy and messy, but it feels more life-like to vary the ambiguity of the endings of these many character strands.
Rated 07 Oct 2013
77
55th
76.500
Rated 09 Aug 2008
40
21st
It's been a while since I've seen it but as I recall the message is if you engage in an inter-racial relationship everyone you know will end up chugging choad for crack. Standard balanced Spike Lee view.
Rated 12 May 2009
80
68th
Not too shabby
Rated 25 Aug 2007
68
64th
Good
Rated 14 Aug 2007
93
91st
Great stuff from Spike Lee - an honest look at interracial relations and the people they effect.
Rated 22 Aug 2016
80
56th
The movie seems to lose interest in the central romance as more interesting tales of race pop up through the side characters.
Rated 28 Apr 2008
70
57th
The film has a very nice flow and the actors does a pretty good job, but Lee paint some emotions/circumstances in an unfortunately bright colour.
Rated 14 May 2011
90
80th
Spike's third masterpiece. Excellent performances and Spike's great direction are in full display here. Also, John Turturro's hair is amazing.
Rated 10 Feb 2018
5
32nd
Jackson is superb and he makes for a sad, gripping mini-movie of his own; the main storyline is less compelling, although Snipes is good (Sciorra isn't). Anthony Quinn, rarely a subtle actor, had tipped into full on ham mode by this stage.
Rated 01 May 2012
78
61st
78.250
Rated 20 Sep 2015
60
48th
Heavily flawed film on interracial relationships whose explicit and aggressive engagement with race dates itself to the time period. Strong performances--including a breakout one from Samuel L.Jackson--keep it from flying off the rails when Lee begins tonal shifting like a crackhead. It doesn't help that Snipes and Sciorra have little real sexual chemistry either. Ultimately the film is let down by Lee's tunnel vision where race dominates every social interaction. It just feels reductive.
Rated 09 Mar 2019
76
2nd
75.50
Rated 31 Jan 2022
95
97th
The mere interracial romance angle could spread thin especially for modern audiences where the weight of it may not hit (despite its truth), but the other themes and stories reveal that this is less about one version of racial conflict and more about the failure of our collective social perceptions on all sides, woeful families, dimwitted friends and passers by, the echo chambers behind every closed door that keep us detached at best and hostile at worst. Everyone babbles but nobody has a clue.

Collections

(16)
Compact view
Showing 1 - 16 of 16 results

Similar Titles

Loading ...

Statistics

Loading ...

Trailer

No Trailer