Romeo and Juliet in an urban ghetto has been done many times over the years, from West Side Story in the 1950s to the numerous urban drama of the late ‘90s and into the 2000s. Although it’s connected to a frequently-tried concept, Jason’s Lyric has a powerful, unique appeal that makes the tale seem fresh and new. A story about true love, family, loyalty and fate, it is a film you will not easily forget.
Allen Payne and Bokeem Woodbine play Jason and Joshua, two brothers whose lives have been unexpectedly marked by fate. As the film opens, their father, nicknamed “Mad Dog” (Forest Whitaker), returns from the horror of Vietnam as a changed man. He is given to fits of violent rage, often attacking his harmless wife. One night, during such a fit, one of the boys accidentally shoots and kills Mad Dog.
Ten years later, Jason and Joshua have grown into distinctly different personalities. Jason is the apple of his mother’s eye, holding a steady job at a television store. Joshua, on the other hand, has just finished a stint in prison, and is the latest prey for local gangster Alonzo (Anthony ‘Treach’ Criss of the rap group Naughty By Nature).
One night, Jason meets a beautiful dreamer named Lyric (Jada Pinkett), and is immediately smitten. She shows him things he has never seen before, and they dream of leaving Houston’s urban ghetto together. It isn’t until later, though, when Joshua gets himself into trouble with the local mob, that Jason discovers that his lover has an unexpected connection to his family. Jason’s choice between family obligation and true love leads to a brutal, compelling climax.
Jason’s Lyric is one of the better films that has been made about urban African-American life, because it combines emotional truths with entertaining melodrama and a steamy romance (so steamy, in fact, that the film had to be trimmed multiple times to get an R rating). Doug McHenry’s film hits a wrong note only in its ending, which, in its ambiguousness, may confuse some viewers. Depending on the audience’s perception, the last scene might feel overly contrived and sentimental, at odds with the rest of the film’s frank emotions.
The movie features good performances all around, with the standout being Bokeem Woodbine. He plays Joshua with an anger so loosely restrained it’s scary.
Jason’s Lyric should please fans of challenging cinema, as long as they can stomach scenes of extreme violence that feel real and pierce the heart.
