Classic Reel: 'Poetic Justice'

Cast: Janet Jackson, Tupac Shakur, Regina King, Joe Torry and Maya Angelou

Year of Release: 1993

Plot: A bereaved hairdresser connects with a postal worker during a road trip.

Director: John Singleton

 

After her stint in TV shows "Good Times" and "Diff'rent Strokes", music icon Janet Jackson made her film debut in this romance drama about the power to move on despite difficulties,  and listening to your inner voice. Co-starring was fellow music heavyweight, the late Tupac Shakur, his second film outing since "Juice". It was also the second film directed by the late John Singleton; his first, "Boyz n the Hood", earned him a nomination for Best Director at the age of 24. Like his debut film, "Poetic Justice" is raw with realism, as it was set in South Central Los Angeles during the Rodney King riots, with gun violence playing a part in the film. 

JJ played against type in this film, as her past characters in "Good Times" and "Diff'rent Strokes" were soft-spoken good girls. This time, her character is Justice, a hairdresser and talented poet who pours her heart out on paper. Her poems are beautiful to the extent that her boyfriend (played by Q-Tip) sees them as a comfort during his stint in jail. Then tragedy strikes, leaving Justice in deep mourning and anger. She never expects to love again, sinking further into her shell, the tone of her poems changing from lifting to melancholy. 

Tupac is Lucky, a postal worker, an inspiring rapper and a loving single father to a little girl. Making music is his way of expressing his pain at the hood's violence around him, and he has faced his own struggles. The intense fights between him and Justice during a road trip with their friends are the highlight of the film as they gradually find their similarities and find common ground, as well as love. Poetic Justice, however, avoids the cliche of an immediate blast of romantic violins as Justice and  Lucky still have obstacles to deal with, including playing peacemakers to their bickering friends, Leisha and her boyfriend, Chicago (Regina King and Joe Torry). 

Janet gave a raw performance as the grieving poet/hairdresser who uses her poetry as a means of dealing with her grief and then finds comfort from an unlikely source. Her use of curse words and displays of hot temper are shocking but make her character realistic.  In Tupac's case, the viewers see a softer side of him as Lucky courts Justice and our hearts break for him as he is also forced to find his way of dealing with a devastating loss like Justice did at the beginning of the film. Gun Violence plays an unfortunate role in the film, as the bereaved are left to deal with the aftermath of the senseless act, which sadly still exists today. 

"Poetic Justice" takes us back to the 90s era,  where box braids were the thing, no social media or digitised content....plus the addition of hip hop and R&B classics, the most prominent being Janet's "Again"  (nominated for Best Original Song) as the recurring music theme. 

If you want to take a trip down memory lane, watch "Poetic Justice". It's a tale of loss but also hope and healing, as one remembers what/who they still have right in front of them. 

TRAILER

Trivia

-The poetry Justice recites via voice-overs and reads out loud is by late American poet, Dr Maya Angelou, who also played Justice's aunt in the film. 

- Janet Jackson's then-husband, René Elizondo Jr., appeared in the film. He directed the music video for  Janet's song, Again. 

-Tupac Shakur was nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards. 

Quote

Lucky: What do you write about?

Justice: I write what's in my heart.

Lucky: What's that?