TV Guide
JUNGLE FEVER offers a host of well-acted, thought-provoking dramatic situations, wrapped in one mess of a story.
Full review
Jungle Fever
Spike Lee's 1991 romance drama follows a married black man and successful architect who causes a stir with friends and family when he enters a relationship with a white secretary from work.
1991Rating: M, High level coarse language, Medium level sex scenes, Drug use132 minsUSA
DramaRomance
Jungle Fever / Reviews
Time Out
Lee's 'joint' looks good, features a chorus of garrulous characters (most of them heavily into racial hatred), makes stirring use of music (by Stevie Wonder and others), and never allows the forgiving women a fair share of the deal.
Full reviewThe Washington Post
The most obvious problem occurs between Snipes and Sciorra. Lee's so interested in the ripple effect they cause, he almost forgets the affair itself. We see anger all over Harlem and Bensonhurst, but we're barely allowed into the main bedroom, where the real hell must be taking place.
Full review
Variety
Performances are all pointed and emotionally edgy. Film feels too long, but it ends powerfully, as the audience exits with the view that both the white and black communities are deeply troubled and have a very long way to go to resolve their differences.
Full review
Empire Magazine
Not quite the classic that Spike Lee had been threatening to make for so long, but, after a return to form after Mo' Better Blues which proved a huge disappointment.
Full review
Roger Ebert
"Jungle Fever" contains two sequences - the girl talk and the crackhouse visit - of amazing power. It contains humor and insight and canny psychology, strong performances, and the fearless discussion of things both races would rather not face.
Full review
Share