Love Jones (1997) | agoodmovietowatch
Love Jones 7.9 1997 Movie

Love Jones

Dir. Theodore Witcher · United States of America · English

A well-acted and funny 90s romcom that never caught on

Our take by The Staff

In this romance from 1997, a photographer and a poet meet in an upscale nightclub in Chicago.

They quickly get together and connect on music, poetry, and photography, but Nina, the photographer, decides to go to New York to mend her relationship with her ex-fiance.

It’s so well-acted, funny, and because it’s been enough time that this has become noticeable, a great depiction of big-city life in the 90s. There is smoking inside, riding a motorcycle without helmets, and top-notch fashion.

The producers said they wanted to make “a contemporary film about African-American life that did not deal with guns and drugs,” and probably because they didn’t make compromises, the film was a commercial failure. In recent years, however, it has been quietly growing into a cult classic.

What happens

Darius Lovehall is a young black poet in Chicago who starts dating Nina Moseley, a beautiful and talented photographer. While trying to figure out if they've got a "love thing" or are just "kicking it," they hang out with their friends, talking about love and sex. Then Nina tests the strength of Darius' feelings and sets a chain of romantic complications into motion.

What the critics said

Notable Critics

"The central romance is one you can get behind, the ultra-attractive leads are fine fantasy figures, and the world they inhabit is a seductive one in which it’s a pleasure to spend time."

— Todd McCarthy

Awards

Sundance

2 wins

Won: Audience Award (Dramatic Competition)Won: Dramatic (Audience Award)

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About the author

The Staff

The Staff is the editorial team at A Good Movie to Watch, contributing reviews, recommendations, and streaming guides across film and television. Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, we track over 100 streaming services in the US. Founded in 2014 by Bilal Zouheir, the team is built around human curation rather than algorithmic recommendations.