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Jungle Fever

Jungle Fever

Drama · Romance · 1991

A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.

Movie details

Jungle Fever

1991 Drama · Romance 2h 12m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.4 / 10

Community rating

A successful and married black man contemplates having an affair with a white girl from work. He's quite rightly worried that the racial difference would make an already taboo relationship even worse.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Jungle Fever?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Spike Lee

Written by

Spike Lee

Wesley Snipes

Wesley Snipes

Flipper Purify

Annabella Sciorra

Annabella Sciorra

Angie Tucci

Spike Lee

Spike Lee

Cyrus

Ossie Davis

Ossie Davis

Reverend Purify

Ruby Dee

Ruby Dee

Lucinda Purify

Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson

Gator Purify

Lonette McKee

Lonette McKee

Drew

Court is in session

Put Jungle Fever on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.