Poetic Justice-John Singleton

John Singleton was one of my favorite directors of the 90s.
I know Boyz In The Hood gets all of the acclaim (deservedly so), but my personal favorite of his was Higher Learning. I thought the characters were written brilliantly and I still refer to some of Professor Maurice Phibbs tidbits of wisdom on almost a daily basis for guidance with sticky situations. And Furious Styles I thought was one of the best movie fathers—or fictitious role models to ever grace the screen.
It was obvious to me that Singleton's stroke of the pen was superior to most and I was surprised when I realized that I had yet to see one of his most revered titles in Poetic Justice.
I didn't know much about this movie other than it was made in the '90s and featured Janet Jackson and Tupac riding along in a mail truck. I didn't know a thing about the characters nor the plot, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that there was no criminal sub-text involving a stereotypical murder or cookie-cutter grand theft spurning a getaway that ignorant and bigoted Hollywood types felt was apropos to every black film of the era.
No.
This was simply a romance film about two flawed souls trying to regain balance in their lives underneath the surface of calloused skin. Skin which just so happened to be black.
Until this movie, I only knew Janet Jackson as a singer, and not as an actress. After scanning through her credits on IMDB, it seems as if this is the only true feature film that she has worked in. Despite the absence of catalog pedigree, I thought she did great and I enjoyed the chemistry—or lack thereof at certain points—between her and Tupac.
The plot may have lacked the power punch action some people come to expect from black films, but that was just fine with me, and I loved how Singleton got the point across that tragedy knows no color barriers and hard times do not discriminate. When death comes to take away those whom we love the most it is rigidly punctual and holds no regard for compassion. And it is then up to us to do the healing. Be that through whatever means necessary. The mediums here are Justice's poetry and the hidden love found in a mutually wounded soul like Lucky. Through this, she weaved cathartic words that provided closure upon the death of both her mother and the murder of her boyfriend while finding love in the unlikeliest of places.
The best spot.
Regina King was great as always and I waxed nostalgic as the greatest decade which was the 90's regained a pulse with concerns of the past that never quite got the closure that they deserved and the greatest era in the history of Hip Hop shined the brightest it ever was. This came out during a time when Easy E, Big Pun, Big L, Biggie, and (obviously) Tupac were all still alive and had yet to approach the apex of their respective careers.
Little did we know what a slim window of time that would come to be.
Stars: ***1/2
Verdict: Watch
Cousins: True Romance, Boys Don't Cry, Menace II Society, Boyz In The Hood, Jerry Maguire