Jungle Fever

While most people are falling over backwards trying to prove how not-racist they are…. excuse me, “anti-racist”… Spike Lee was forcing America to confront itself through the drama of human life decades before anyone uttered the word “woke.” Jungle Fever is one of his best, the simple story of a Black Man and an Italian Woman hooking up, with all the ramifications that brought in 1991 and continues to bring 30 years later.

Brimming with amazing acting by Wesley Snipes, Sam Jackson, John Tutturro, Annabella Sciorra, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and the great Anthony Quinn, there’s plenty of great performances to soak in, all embedded with Spike’s sense of humor and drama. There’s also an quintessentially American score by Terence Blanchard, lending the film a classy sonic backdrop, and a whole new collection of songs by the great Stevie Wonder, who just might have turned in his last great album with Jungle Fever.

Like most of Spike’s early work, Jungle Fever is in-your-face, reflecting the same vibrant energy and rhythm of 90’s Black Culture that brought us Public Enemy and Reg E Gaines. You might hate it- I love it- but you can’t ignore it, and scene after scene bristles with that sharp dialogue and poignant social commentary that makes a Spike Lee Joint a Spike Lee Joint.