Poetic Justice (1993)

Synopsis: After the phenomenal success of BOYZ N THE HOOD, John Singleton surprised his fans by making a film that is part love story, part road movie, and part character study of a sensitive poet.... After the phenomenal success of BOYZ N THE HOOD, John Singleton surprised his fans by making a film that is part love story, part road movie, and part character study of a sensitive poet. Nevertheless, Singleton sees the movie as the second installment in a trilogy about South Central Los Angeles. The heroine, Justice (Janet Jackson), is a young woman in mourning for the boyfriend she lost to gang violence. Her friend Iesha (Regina King) persuades her to go on a trip to Oakland with mailmen Chicago and Lucky. Lucky (Tupac Shakur) and Justice don't take to each other at first--she doesn't want to get hurt again and he has his pride--but their journey into the world outside the 'hood proves liberating for both. Singleton lets the serious issues he'd previously dealt with explicitly serve as background this time, which makes them all the more powerful, since for these characters, drugs, teenage pregnancy, and gang violence exist as a daily reality. Janet Jackson's soulful look convinces us that she has the world on her shoulders; throughout the film she reads her poetry (actually written by Maya Angelou) in voiceover. [More]

Starring: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Tyra Ferrell, Regina King

Starring: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Tyra Ferrell, Regina King, Joe Torry, Roger Guenveur Smith

Director: John Singleton

Director: John Singleton

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