Mo' Better Blues 1990

In the sweltering summer of 1969, a quartet of young boys, with sun-kissed faces and wide-eyed wonder, approached the stoop of Bleek Gilliam’s (Zakee L. Howze) brownstone rowhouse, beckoning him to abandon his trumpet lesson and join in on a game of baseball. But fate had other plans, as his mother insisted he prioritize his musical education, while his father fretted that his son would grow up to be a “sissy.” The tension culminated in a family argument, ultimately leading Bleek to stick with his instrument, sending his friends packing.

Two decades later, the grown Bleek Gilliam (Denzel Washington) stood center stage at a bustling nightclub, his trumpet soaring through the night air as part of his jazz quintet. His bandmates - Shadow Henderson (Wesley Snipes) on saxophone, Left Hand Lacey (Giancarlo Esposito) on piano, Bottom Hammer (Bill Nunn) on drums, and Rhythm Jones (Jeff “Tain” Watts) on bass - provided the perfect accompaniment to his melodic mastery. Giant (Spike Lee), their manager and a childhood friend of Bleek’s, hovered in the wings, cautioning him against allowing Shadow’s extended solos to upstage the rest of the band.

The next morning, Bleek woke up beside his girlfriend, Indigo Downes (Joie Lee), only to have her depart for college classes. He later met his father by the Brooklyn Bridge for a game of catch, confessing that while he cared for Indigo, he was not ready to settle down and preferred exploring other romantic possibilities. Later that day, as he practiced his trumpet, Clarke Bentancourt (Cynda Williams) dropped by, advising him to fire Giant and suggesting they “mo better” - an invitation Bleek interpreted as a proposition rather than a metaphorical suggestion. The sudden nip on his lip left him reeling, lamenting, “I make my living with my lips,” as he examined the small wound.

Meanwhile, Giant was engrossed in a high-stakes game of chance with his bookie, placing bets on the outcome of a baseball game. He then stormed into the nightclub, berating the doormen over the club’s entry times. His tense encounter with Bleek and the band - minus pianist Left Hand Lacey, who arrived late with his French companion, only to receive a stern scolding from Giant - was short-lived, as he retreated to the club owner’s office to emphasize the quintet’s value to the establishment. Unfortunately, his attempts to renegotiate their contract fell on deaf ears.

The morning after, Giant encounters his bookmaker (Ruben Blades), whose concerns about Giant’s escalating debt are met with nonchalant dismissal. Undeterred, Giant places several new wagers, only to pay a visit to Shadow, where he drops off a record and becomes privy to Shadow’s extramarital tryst. This incriminating knowledge sets the stage for the subsequent scene, in which Bleek (perhaps still reeling from his own infidelity) is entreated by Clarke to perform with her at the club, a request he declines.

As tensions simmer within the band, Bleek and Giant must navigate the fallout of their success. The group’s financial demands are met with resistance from the club owners, who remind Bleek that it was Giant who negotiated the current contract. Meanwhile, both Clarke and Indigo arrive at the club, clad in dresses that eerily mirror each other - a duplicate purchase made by Bleek for his dual paramours.

Bleek’s attempts to placate both women are thwarted when he finds himself calling them by the wrong name, leading to their eventual departure. As the drama unfolds, Shadow’s unrequited love for Clarke simmers just beneath the surface.

Later that evening, as Giant and Bleek take a leisurely bike ride, the latter demands that Giant assume greater financial responsibility, a promise Giant makes before asking Bleek for a loan to settle his own crippling debt. Bleek refuses, and Giant is subsequently waylaid by Madlock (Samuel L. Jackson) and Rod (Leonard L. Thomas), two ruthless loan sharks who demand immediate payment.

When Giant’s fingers are brutally broken as collateral, he turns to the band members in desperation, securing a loan from Left that only serves to deepen his financial woes. With loan sharks now stalking him, Giant seeks refuge with Bleek, asking for a place to stay and offering to help raise the necessary funds to settle his debt.

However, this olive branch is met with a swift rebuke as Bleek fires Giant from his position as manager, effectively severing ties between the two. As the consequences of their actions come into sharp focus, it becomes clear that the very foundations of the band are beginning to crumble under the weight of their individual struggles.

As Bleek’s emotional turmoil reaches a boiling point, he finds himself torn between his two estranged loves, leaving heartfelt messages for each. Meanwhile, Clarke has surprisingly moved on with Shadow, prompting Bleek to take drastic action by firing Shadow from the band. The consequences of this decision are swift and brutal, as loan sharks track down Giant at the club and unleash a merciless beating, with Bleek attempting to intervene but ultimately suffering a similar fate. In a particularly egregious act of violence, one of the loan sharks, Madlock, commandeers Bleek’s prized trumpet and uses it to inflict a vicious blow that leaves him hospitalized with permanent damage to his lips.

Months later, Bleek reunites with Giant, who has transformed his life by finding steady work as a doorman and kicking his gambling habit. Bleek pays a visit to Shadow and Clarke, now performing together with the remnants of his former band. Shadow invites Bleek onto the stage, where they share a poignant musical moment. However, Bleek’s physical limitations, a lingering reminder of his brutal beating, prevent him from playing with the same level of finesse he once did. He abandons the stage and makes a beeline for Indigo’s doorstep.

Indigo is initially resistant to rekindling their relationship, having heard nothing from Bleek in over a year. However, when he pleads with her to save his life, she relents and welcomes him back into her arms. A nostalgic montage then unfolds, showcasing the couple’s wedding, the birth of their son Miles (Jelani Asar Snipes), and Bleek’s devotion to teaching his young son how to play the trumpet.

In the film’s poignant final scene, Miles (Arnold Cromer) is now a spry 10-year-old who longs to join his friends outside for some carefree fun. Indigo insists that he finish his trumpet lessons first, but Bleek ultimately relents, allowing his son to leave and play. This heartwarming conclusion serves as a bittersweet full-circle moment, echoing the opening scene with its identical dialogue yet yielding a dramatically different outcome.