Mo' Better Blues
1990 · Movie · R · 129 min · ★ 6.5 · 66% critics
A gifted but self-centered jazz trumpeter pours everything into his music while juggling two relationships and keeping his troubled manager close. As money problems and band tensions mount, he’s pushed to confront how fragile his career, friendships, and personal life really are.
Also known as A Love Supreme · Variations on the Mo' Better Blues · Mo' Betta Blues
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Details
- Years
- 1990
- Release date
- 1990-08-03
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 129 min
- Critic score
- 66/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.5/10 (260 votes)
About
If you enjoy music-driven relationship dramas with ego clashes and club-world tension, this can be a solid watch; Not for you if you need a tight plot or dislike jazz-heavy stories like La Bamba.
Pros: great jazz performances; strong lead acting; lively club energy | Cons: thin or drifting story; uneven tone and pacing; distracting stylistic choices
Themes
- melancholy
- admiring
Cast & crew
Denzel Washington
as Bleek Gilliam
Spike Lee
as Giant
Wesley Snipes
as Shadow Henderson (Sax)
Giancarlo Esposito
as Left Hand Lacey (Piano)
Robin Harris
as Butterbean Jones
Joie Lee
as Indigo
Bill Nunn
as Bottom Hammer
John Turturro
as Moe Flatbush
Dick Anthony Williams
as Big Stop Williams
Cynda Williams
as Clarke Bentancourt
Directed by Spike Lee