Love Jones (1997)

When it comes to romantic movies most of them seem to be filled with stereotypes. The characters are card box cutouts and it’s mostly about them ending up in crazy situations. So it’s always refreshing to see a movie where the characters feel like real people. There are a couple of movies where I have that feeling like Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Once. This is another movie that managed to portray people the way they are. Is it as good as those other movies though?

Darius Lovehall (Larenz Tate) is a poet who regularly performs his spoken word in a Chicago nightclub. One night he meets Nina Moseley (Nia Long), a talented photographer who just broke up with her boyfriend and vows not to fall in love again. As things go in the movies though you know what will happen next, but the way it handles it doesn’t feel stale. It’s a fresh approach to the boys meets girl romance movies without any moments where it becomes too unrealistic. Everything is grounded in reality and the movie takes the time to portray these characters as real people struggling with their personal issues. Of course there are many roadblocks to overcome, but they are interesting. The movie doesn’t have the typical stereotypes you see in other movies and because of that it feels fresh, even if it’s a relatively old film.

If you are looking for a nice romantic movie than this is one to check out. It has a soundtrack that reminded me of a Woody Allen movie with lots of jazz. Both Tate and Long give excellent performances and the rest of the cast is very good as well. If I haven’t made it clear yet, this was a movie I very much enjoyed and would recommend if you are looking for something unique in the romance genre.

Score: 8