Jason's Lyric
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| Jason's Lyric | |
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Doug McHenry |
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| Produced by | Doug McHenry George Jackson |
| Written by | Bobby Smith, Jr. |
| Starring | Allen Payne Jada Pinkett Smith Bokeem Woodbine Anthony 'Treach' Criss Eddie Griffin Suzzanne Douglass Lisa Nicole Carson Lahmard Tate and Forest Whitaker |
| Cinematography | Francis Kenny |
| Editing by | Andrew Mondshein |
| Studio | PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Propaganda Films Jackson/McHenry Company |
| Distributed by | Gramercy Pictures |
| Release date(s) | September 28, 1994 |
| Running time | 120 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $7,000,000 (estimate) |
Jason's Lyric is a 1994 romantic drama film, written by Bobby Smith, Jr., and directed by Doug McHenry. The film marks the directorial debut of McHenry, who co-produced the film with George Jackson. Both Jackson and McHenry have been notably successful as producers with films that include New Jack City.
Jason's Lyric features an ensemble cast of African American actors that includes Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Treach, Eddie Griffin, Lahmard Tate, and Forest Whitaker. Set in Houston, Texas, the film is a story about young African American adults learning how to deal with love and maturity.
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[edit] Plot summary
Jason's Lyric is the "good brother"/"bad brother" story, set in the notorious Third Ward of Houston. Jason (Allen Payne) is the responsible young man who has a job in a television repair shop and lives at home with his hard-working mom (Suzzanne Douglass). Joshua (Bokeem Woodbine) is the brother just released from prison and obviously bound for a violent end. Joshua deals drugs for short-term cash and joins a gang plotting a bank robbery.
When Lyric (Jada Pinkett Smith) walks into the shop to buy a television, Jason has met his perfect match. She has dreams of escape, and inspires Jason to do supposedly romantic things like borrow a city bus to take her on a date. Their relationship continually grows and blossoms into love. The height comes when Jason and Lyric take a romantic ride in a rowboat, then make love in the woods.
In a series of flashbacks, Forest Whitaker plays the boys' father, Maddog. Throughout the film, Jason has nightmares about a tragedy in his childhood. Either Jason or Joshua killed Maddog while he was drunkenly attacking their mother. It turns out that Jason killed Mad Dog in the end. Jason managed to take the gun from Joshua and accidentally shot Mad Dog in the chest. After being comforted by Lyric, he learns to deal with his past. As punishment for being late for the bank robbery, Joshua is beaten by the rest of his gang. When Joshua returns home and Jason realize how badly he's been beaten, Jason confronts the leader of the gang. Jason then meets Lyric at the bayou and tells her that he can't leave with her and that his nightmares occur because he killed his father when he was a child and that's why he feels obligated to his family. Things get worse when Joshua hears his mother tell Jason to leave town with Lyric because he doesn't owe her or Joshua anything. Joshua believes that Jason is leaving not only because of Lyric, but because Alonzo(gang leader)may take revenge. He plans to kill them all in order to keep his brother from leaving. Jason hears about Joshua plan and heads to Alonzo/Lyric's house, but he's too late. He see's what has happened and rushes upstairs looking for Lyric. He finds that Joshua has a gun pointed at her neck. He is able to convince Joshua not to shoot her, but he accidentally pulls the trigger and shoots her. Jason carries her out of the house. Then a gunshot is heard which turns out to be Joshua killing himself. Lyric is able to be saved and the movie ends with the two of them leaving town on a bus.
[edit] Cast
- Allen Payne — Jason Alexander
- Jada Pinkett Smith — Lyric
- Bokeem Woodbine — Joshua Alexander
- Anthony 'Treach' Criss — Alonzo
- Eddie Griffin — Rat
- Suzzanne Douglass — Gloria
- Lisa Nicole Carson — Marti
- Lahmard Tate — Ron
- Forest Whitaker — Maddog
- Asheamu Earl Randle — Teddy
[edit] Reception
Jason's Lyric received generally good reviews from movie critics. It currently has a 77% rating from Rotten Tomatoes. [1]
[edit] See also
- Jason's Lyric (soundtrack) — soundtrack to the film.
