For some unknown reason, Love Jones has been on my mind the last few days. Turns out, today is the 20 year anniversary of the film's release. Energy is strong nuh true? Sadly enough, you can't find this film on any streaming service [iTunes, Google Play, Amazon], which is an American tragedy of ignorant measure.
That said, all these years later, as an aspiring screenwriter, I'm trying to figure out why that movie resonated so powerfully with Black people, emotionally and technically. After running thru the movie in my brain [because I no longer have a DVD player to watch 1 of my 2 hard copies], I landed on one final answer. Darius Lovehall is the last great Black American hero. Yes, more so than Obama.
Darius Lovehall, the genus type, is extinct. This movie captured a time that we will never see again. A time long before DM's and elbow taps on the street, when men had to be more magical than David Blaine to bag a girl. A time where men had to actually look themselves in the mirror, grab their nuts, and be THAT guy. This is literal. Let's look at how the movie starts.
Nina Mosely [Nia Long] walks up next to him at the bar. He's awe struck, so much so that he spills his drink. A "fumble," as Woody [Bill Bellamy's character] called it. He digs this hole deeper, by yelling to the bartender, "put it on my tab." Nina is not amused, and it's very visible. He goes back to his booth and gets clowned by his friends. Today's Man [No suit rental] would have perished there. Why? Because today's man just has to swipe left [or right, I'm not too hip] to forget that he played himself. BUT WHAT DID MY MAN DARIUS DO NEXT!? He got on stage, and in the eye of an embarrassment storm, he mustered up the necessary testosterone and performed the fuck out of his newly re-titled poem, A Blues For Nina.
“Is your name Yemaya? Oh hell no it’s got to be Oshun.”
Took me 19 years to figure out what the fuck he was saying, but now that I know, BARS. Look it up.
I say all this to say, pursuing women is a lost art. It's a rite of passage. To feel that nervousness, overcome it, and in the illustrious words of CthaGod, "Shoot your shot," puts bass in your voice. Shit, MJ only made 1 out of every 2 from the field and he's the best ever. If you shoot 10x and make 3.5, you're still a Hall Of Famer. Tell the truth. There was always ONLY 1 guy in the crew that had the ice in his veins to pull this off. And we all secretly wanted to be him. How many times did you and your boys work on your rap together before you approached a girl? Sure sliding in the DMs is much easier, but, do we get stripes for that? Feels cheap. Like polyester.
Yes, there was a ton of other shit that made the movie phenomenal. Nia Long was wild sexy, it's arguably the tipping point for bringing spoken word to the mainstream, and it was beautifully acted. Haven't seen a Rom Com that well done since. Not to mention...the SOUNDTRACK WAS STOOPID! A lot of us became fake Jazz fans when that In a Sentimental Mood montage came on. Real fake Jazz fans know the first time they heard that record was when Heathcliff played it for Claire in the living room.
I say all that to say, Darius, Nina, and the rest of the cast represented painfully authentic characters. Shit, it started sweet, but 3/4 of the way through she's going thru my man's voicemails all crazy, hitting him with "Did you fuck her?" So, it ain't too far from today, ha!
I asked my friends the other day, what pieces of content in the last few years have stuck, and are now a part of you. Minimal response. But I can say unequivocally, Love Jones is one of those things, that is a part of me. Do yourself a solid and rewatch this film.