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Mo Better Blues
Jazz trumpeter Bleek Gilliam makes questionable decisions in his professional and romantic lives.
28 February 1957, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
19 December 1956, Kentwood, Louisiana, USA
7 January 1970, Brooklyn, New York, USA
17 May 1966, Chicago, Illinois, USA
30 August 1953, Chicago, Illinois, USA
12 April 1963, Queens, New York, USA
22 August 1961, USA
16 July 1948, Panama City, Panama
16 March 1959, Roosevelt, Long Island, New York, USA
23 July 1928, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
30 November 1977, Brooklyn, New York, USA
13 January 1931, Savannah, Georgia, USA
26 August 1960, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
September 22, 2008
Full of wonderful music, grand visuals, and melodramatic plot twists, the movie is laced with very funny moments, as well as interesting insights into the world of jazz and the plight of the dedicated musician.
June 24, 2008
Centering on the career of a jazz musician (well played by Denzel Washington, just before he became a star), this mid-range picture has nice production values but the drama is too diffuse, lacking the edge of Spike Lee's more overtly political works.
May 20, 2003
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?'
September 22, 2008
It's tight, suspenseful, funny and packed with great music.
June 14, 2007
Spike Lee's film is filled with promising ideas and moments of technical virtuosity.
September 22, 2008
Though it's full of striking visual ideas and actorly turns, it never fully convinces.
September 22, 2008
Denzel, Wesley and Co are fine, but Mo' Better Blues hits too many bum notes.
May 12, 2001
For the only time in his remarkable career, Spike Lee has failed to tell it like it is.
February 09, 2006
Despite stylish camerawork and sturdy acting, this lengthy indulgence succeeds neither as jazz movie nor as cautionary tale.
September 22, 2008
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.
October 23, 2004
Mo' Better Blues is not a great film, but it's an interesting one, which is almost as rare.