Mo' Better Blues
Drama, Music
-
1990
Available on
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Talented but self-centered trumpeter Bleek Gilliam is obsessed with his music and indecisiveness about his girlfriends Indigo and Clarke. But when he is forced to come to the aid of his manager and childhood friend, Bleek finds his world more fragile than he ever imagined.
Director:
Cast:
Similar
Details
Runtime:
129 min
Release date:
3 Aug 1990
Country:
US
Languages:
English
Budget:
$10,000,000
Revenue:
$16,153,593
Awards:
1 win & 3 nominations total
Top Critics Reviews
rotten:
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.
– Variety Staff,
Variety,
22 Sep 2008
rotten:
Though it's full of striking visual ideas and actorly turns, it never fully convinces.
– Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader,
22 Sep 2008
rotten:
Despite stylish camerawork and sturdy acting, this lengthy indulgence succeeds neither as jazz movie nor as cautionary tale.
– Geoff Andrew,
Time Out,
9 Feb 2006
fresh:
Mo' Better Blues is not a great film, but it's an interesting one, which is almost as rare.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
23 Oct 2004
rotten:
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?'
– Caryn James,
New York Times,
20 May 2003