MO’ BETTER BLUES (1990)

Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) is a hot-shot young trumpet player leading his own jazz quartet who loves the music and has a way with the ladies but can't figure out how to reconcile those two things.  He's also dating two women (Joie Lee, Cynda Williams) at the same time and can't commit to either of them.  He has also a manager (Spike Lee) who's a gambling addict and a saxophonist band-mate (Wesley Snipes) who has developed a rivalry with him.  So where does he go from here?  In this sprawling romantic musical drama, we follow his complicated story and hear a lot of great music along the way!  This was Oscar-Winner director Spike Lee's immediate follow-up to Do the Right Thing and even though it was a pretty unconventional choice to come right after such a seminal film, its reputation has only grown over the past thirty-five years thanks to several sterling peformances from its leads along with a stacked supporting cast including Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, NIcholas Turturro, Ruben Blades, Samuel L. Jackson, and the late, great Robin Harris in his last live action on-screen role. 

Host: Geoff Gershon
Edited By Ella Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

Transcript

MO’ BETTER BLUES – 1990

Directed by Spike Lee

Starring Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Wesley Snipes, Joie Lee, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, Dick Anthony Williams, Bill Nunn, Nicholas Turturro, Samuel L. Jackson, Leonard L. Thomas, Charlie Murphy, Ruben Blades, Linda Hawkins, and Cynda Williams

Genre:  Musical Drama (Audio clip)

Despite the fact that this is very much a story driven by music (which is great), I have to say that this MIGHT be the best-LOOKING film Spike has ever directed. 🤔 Everything just POPS....no shortage of lush colors dominating the screen to accompany so much memorable jazz music and rapid fire dialogue. The stage, the outfits (every one is dressed VERY '90's by way of '40's Harlem)....it's all gorgeously shot with a lot of fluid camera movement (including some of the Spike's patented dolly shots) by DP Ernest Dickerson who had ONE hell of a collaborative run with Lee through Malcolm X before becoming a director himself. 

It's an undoubtedly a star vehicle for younger post-first-Oscar Denzel who plays Bleek Gilliam, a brilliant-yet-self-absorbed trumpet player who also leads an upcoming hipster jazz quintet which also includes Left Hand (Giancarlo Esposito) on piano, Bottom (Bill Nunn) on bass, Rhythm (Jeff Watts) on the drums, and Shadow (Wesley Snipes) on the saxophone. Bleek and Shadow have a growing rivalry which is only mitigated by Bleek's long-time manager/childhood friend Giant who also happens to be a gambling addict AND a pretty awful manager at that. 🙄

Though this is about more the travails of jazz musicians, there's still a love story (or actual love triangle) at the core of this sprawling story. And this triangle includes Bleek, Clark (Cynda Williams in apparently her on-screen debut) who's an aspiring singer/jazz aficionado herself AND Indigo (Joie Lee) who's a school teacher. We see many scenes of Bleek alone with either Clark or Indigo....usually at his apartment, often a hearty mix of banter and intimacy. These scenes are often presented almost voyeuristically featuring lots of close-ups - all three actor's have solid chemistry though it's abundantly clear that this is often more about Bleek's narcissism than actual romance. He can't commit to either of them....only his music. 

And the musical sequences are pretty dazzling, mostly occurring on-stage at the band's regular club, Beneath the Underdog which is run by the venal Flatbush Brothers who are played by real-life brothers John and Nicholas Turturro. As powerhouse as this cast is, we pretty much buy them as musicians....especially Denzel and Wesley. It IS a kick watching Denzel and Wesley square off here JUST as their stars were starting to rise....though actually the music itself was performed by Terence Blanchard (trumpet) and Branford Marsalis (sax). Each musical number is distinctive from the last one, each demonstrating a different school of jazz, and the dynamic among the musicians on-stage almost always seems to advance the story....

In case it wasn't already clear, this is a film about PASSION in a every sense....artistic ambition, sexual desire, addiction, and even the inevitability of violence. (Mainly one rough sequence late in the movie when Giant's gambling debt REALLY catches up with as two men go to town on him....and GUESS who gets in the way? :o) Like most other Spike Lee joints, it sometimes labors to juggle so many different characters (I haven't even mentioned Ruben Blades bookie or Robin Harris' loudmouth comedian) but more than most, Spike (who also wrote the screenplay) finds organic ways to blend the stories and themes together. 

In the end, this is very much a coming-of-age story for Bleek - it's a rough journey for his character but a gratifying one, helped by a genuinely nuanced performance by Denzel. (One of his best) In fact, pretty much most of the cast is stellar including heartfelt performances from both Cynda AND Joie, we actually feel for both of their characters. 

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout runtime of film): 

Amidst SO much good music, there is ONE standout number as far as I’m concerned….and interestingly enough, it doesn’t feature any performing by Bleek himself.  It occurs late in the film as he’s about to perform what was SUPPOSED to be his comeback performance….and he’s about join Shadow’s new band on-stage WITH Clark now singing lead vocals. (Audio clip) 

And along with Bleek, we witness the GORGEOUS vocals of Cynda Williams who pretty much STEALS away the movie at this point – this SHOULD have been a star-making moment for the actress who still ended up having a pretty solid career including a VERY memorable turn in previous episode One False Move just two years later.  The song which she is performing is actually a modernized version of an old blues standard originally written by W.C Handy several decades prior….he was considered by many to be the “Father of the Blues.”  Just a lovely, haunting performance which also sets the final stretch of the film into motion - though not in the way you would expect – and backed by Blanchard and Marsalis on horns, the song is “Harlem Blues.” (Audio clip)  

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

Even though he gives a solid enough performance, I DO question the necessity for Spike to cast himself in this movie. He just looks SO much like his sister Joie (and unlike in their previous film together - Do the Right Thing - they're NOT playing brother-and-sister) that it becomes increasingly distracting....especially since Denzel is playing off of them one-on-one in different scenes though in VERY different ways. 😬 At the very least, Spike eventually outgrew the desire to cast himself in major parts of his films by Malcolm X and I think it only helped him in the long-run as a filmmaker.

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie):

This is probably exemplified in one particular bravura sequence about half-way through at the club when both Clark AND Indigo show up separately one night to watch Bleek play....BOTH wearing the same EXACT red dress he bought each of them while touring in Paris! 🫣 (Guess he got a two-for-one deal?) Not only is this previously unacknowledged love triangle coming to a head but also the brewing rivalry Bleek and Shadow.....the latter of whom seizes this opportunity to sit down with Clark and smooth-talk her. 😆 It's actually Lee's Giant at the bar who first clocks each woman as they enter the club. Watching the camera follow him to then warn Bleek, THEN following Bleek as he stealthily attempts to move through this crowded hall to sit down with one of them while the other doesn't notice....it's just a masterclass in building genuine tension out of something which can seem SO silly on paper .  As a director, this remains one of Spike’s all-time best sequences and major props to editor Sam Pollard (who has been a semi-regular collaborator of both Lee’s AND Dickerson’s) for playing such a key part in piecing it all together. 

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film):

And SPEAKING of Spike…..it's kinda nutty in retrospect but THIS was his immediate follow-up to previous episode Do The Right Thing just a year later....which was a pretty SEMINAL film. It was a bold choice to go this route – with a movie about JAZZ no less - and it wouldn't be his last one.... this would be in the middle of a truly STERLING stretch of dazzling films from the filmmaker: Do the Right Thing in ’89, this in ’90, Jungle Fever in ’91, and what I believe remains his BEST film overall – though it’s close – Malcolm X in ’92.  All previous episodes by the way and likely a peak period for one of our premiere filmmakers – for firing on all cylinders as not only a director but a writer as well, Spike Lee is the MVP. 

Final Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5 

Oh and of course as this has become a yearly tradition for this podcast as the star’s birthday is on December 28….Happy 71st Birthday to our greatest living actor PERIOD, Denzel Washington.  What better way to celebrate than to revisit one of his better early movie star performances….

Streaming on Starz TV & crunchyroll

And that ends another POP TOP URBAN 40 FUNK LOVE review!