Jungle Fever (1991) * * *

Directed by:  Spike Lee

Starring:  Wesley Snipes, Samuel L. Jackson, Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, Lonette McKee, Spike Lee, Annabella Sciorra, John Turturro

The focal point of Jungle Fever is the interracial sexual relationship between Flipper and Angie, but it is also the least interesting aspect of the film.   There are other more compelling subplots, one involving Flipper's irredeemable crackhead brother and another involving a Brooklyn shopowner's love for a kind black woman who visits his shop daily.     The subplots are so much stronger that I found myself wanting the movie to blow by Flipper's and Angie's scenes so we could get to the good stuff. 

Flipper (Snipes) is an architect with a stable family who wants to be a partner at his firm.    A new office temp named Angie (Sciorra) begins working late nights with Flipper.    An attraction grows, partly due to each other's curiosity based on racial myths and stereotypes.     Flipper's buddy Cyrus (Lee) tells him, "You've got the fever man".     Flipper's wife, Drew (McKee) confesses, "I think he always liked me because I'm light-skinned and more like a white woman."    Their ensuing relationship wreaks havoc on Flipper's marriage and Angie's relationship with her father, who violently throws her out of the house, mostly because he is afraid of what his neighbors may think. 

Flipper's brother Gator (Jackson) is an unrepentant crack addict who begs for money and manipulates however he can to get it.    "You know I'll have to bash some old lady over the head to get her money, so why not just give it to me?"    Their parents, the Good Reverend Doctor Purify (Davis) and Lucinda (Dee) have banned Gator from their home, although this doesn't stop Gator from sneaking by to work on his mother for more money.     Gator steals the family TV and Flipper searches for Gator in a multi-storied crackhouse.     What we witness is the absolute hell of addiction as Flipper looks for his brother.     People who have long abandoned hope and their souls for crack lie on the floor in various states of semi-consciousness.    Smoke fills the air and penetrates the darkness.     I can't imagine hell being much worse than this existence.   Is it any wonder that when Flipper is later accosted by a teenage girl offering to perform oral sex for drug money, he clutches the girl and screams "NOOOO!!" as loud as he can. 

Another strong subplot involves Paulie (Turturro), Angie's ex-bofyriend who runs a local convenience store in Angie's neighborhood.    He is a mature man who is under the thumb of his domineering father, but also has enlightened views on race relations.    He is in love with a local black woman who frequents his store.    He even summons the courage to ask her out, despite the objections of his friends who hang out at the store all day.    The friends, led by Nicholas Turturro (John's real-life brother), needle Paulie relentlessly, but perhaps this hides their secret desire to be with a black woman.    This leads to a violent climax of this story, with Paulie dragging himself beaten and bloodied to his date. 

Back to the main story, in which Flipper and Angie consummate "the fever" and begin a relationship which meets with objection from numerous people, including Flipper's blowhard father and even a waitress (Queen Latifah in an early role) who has no qualms about voicing her negative opinion of the couple.    The reason I think this entire plot suffers is because it is clear it must be doomed from the start.    Both Snipes and Sciorra are capable actors and create strong performances, but the relationship has no chance of surviving and thus the suspense is drained from it.    Wouldn't it be better to see this relationship flourish despite it all?    Wouldn't it be better to have Flipper and Angie base their relationship on more than just racial overtones?    Maybe Lee's point is that because of intolerance, Flipper and Angie have no shot.   However, I'm not sure they even wanted to be a real couple or had the chemistry to be one.  

Gator's dileema ends shockingly, or not so shockingly because his parents can only put up with so much from their wayward son.    I was also moved by the actions of Angie's father (Frank Vincent), who apologizes to her without having to say a word.    And as for Flipper, it's only proper that things are left up in the air for him.     He held his hand too close to the flame, was burned, and what does he do now that his curiosity has been satisfied?     Lee's film is fine work overall, but it's still strange that his undercard is better than the main event.