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Get On The Bus | Year: 1996 Classification: Drama Country: USA Language: English Actors/Actresses: - Spike Lee - Richard Belzer - Thomas Jefferson - Andre Braugher - Ossie Davis - Charles Dutton Lee Hits us again with the polemics Once again, Spike Lee hits us again with the polemics. Overall, the story is not bad. The basic idea of a bus ride to the MMM is a good one. SOME of the characters are nicely drawn, such as Charles Roc Dutton's bus driver, Ossie Davis as the patriarch, and the caring father of the wayward son. But the film is weighed down by Spike Lee's usual soapbox dialogue and polemics. Sadly, few of the characters in this film actually talk, they make speeches (as is the case with "The Red Menace" and "Putney Swope)." Like I said, the story itself is good and the above-mentioned characters are nicely drawn. But the dialogue? Go to the soapbox on 125th St. in Harlem as the Black nationalist pontificators pound the podium and you get the idea. One of my favz - Great actors makes it a wonderful film This is according to me a very good film, it's actually one of my fav's. Spike Lee at his best and worst... His best: social journalism. Nobody brings perennially pressing issues to the screen as consistently and vitally as Spike Lee---love or hate his films as you may, there's no argument that he does a superb job of provoking debate and reflection. Here it's Lee's two favorite topics, racial history/injustice/relations and (less prominently but still significant) gender/sexual issues...treated with a vast amount of humor and often insight. His worst: at times some of his films implode when Lee gets on his soapbox and goes too heavy-handed---the Message blots out the Movie. This happens towards the last one-third, with the last 10 minutes especially preachy and contrived. The film craft breaks down, characters and dialogue that before had been pretty much spot-on suddenly verge into labored allegory and caricature. It's like Lee drew up a laundry list of Pressing Societal Problems (brings to mind Larwence Kasdan's "Grand Canyon") and tried to allot 5-10 minutes for each one. Sometimes he does so with grace and wit, but sometimes he stumbles into glibness and stereotyping. I was a little disappointed that Lee didn't show more of the actual Million Man march, maybe explore the controversial Louis Farrakhan a little bit more deeply. I was however pleasantly surprisd that Lee does take a fairly mature, gutsy stand on homosexuality and homophobia absent in some of his earlier films. Had Lee made this film more as a straight (or pointed) documentary rather than trying to turn it into a heavy-handed inspirational treatise, I'd gladly give it 5 plus stars. Even in its current form it's well worth watching. Buy Get On The Bus at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on Get On The Bus Search with the Priority Search Engine on Get On The Bus This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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