Annabella Sciorra in Jungle Fever (1991)

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Jungle Fever (1991) is written, produced and directed by Spike Lee, and explores inter-racial relationships.

Wesley Snipes stars as the star architect in a white firm. He lives with his wife, Lonette McKee and young daughter in a nice apartment in Harlem. As the film opens, Snipes and McKee are having noisy morning sex, and we get the idea that it is a frequent thing. They are a picture of marital happiness.

Everything changes when Snipes has an affair with a white Italian temp secretary at work. Lee doesn't give all of the answers, but certainly raises all of the questions, as he explores how everyone involved reacts to the situation. There is also a sub-plot concerning Snipes' brother and drugs that seemed a little out of place to me.

Songs by Stevie Wonder, and score by Terrance Blanchard is well done, but sometimes very loud, overpowering the dialogue.

I go along with the crowd on this one. The topic is an interesting one, and is well explored. The acting is uniformly competent, and the photography ranges from adequate to very nice. Photography, score, art direction and lighting combine to set each mood required in the plot. All in all, it is a well-made film.

Crtics Vote: Leonard Maltin awards 3 stars, and Roger Ebert says 3 1/2.

IMDB Summary: 6.6 out of 10.

Box Office: It was a box office success, grossing $32.482m. Budget was $14m.

DVD Info: The DVD transfer, part of a three DVD Spike Lee collection, is very good, and has the special features you expect in a boxed set.

Written by: Tuna ...courtesy of Scoopy.net