AllMovie

Love Jones is a funky, moody contemplation of love and sex among hip, upscale African-Americans in Chicago. But it isn't quite as profound as the jazzy soundtrack would have us believe. There's just the right song to accompany every interlude, from a smoky nightclub poetry slam, to a rainy afternoon in a movie-sized loft, to the note-perfect banter that punctuates a relaxed gathering in a plush apartment. But what's lagging is the emotion -- it's never quite convincing that Larenz Tate's Darius and Nia Long's Nina are jonesing for much more than sex. Darius first pursues Nina like some sort of stalker; his follow-up to a sexy poem he delivers moments after meeting her, which is very ambiguously received, is to steal her address from a personal check and swing by her apartment. The fumbles they make trying to build up trust and maintain the relationship contain few new insights, though it is interesting to see how many of their actions are dictated by foolish pride. What distinguishes the movie is the dialogue, refreshing in both its naturalism and intelligence -- it's too rare that audiences get to see urbane, three-dimensional African-American characters chatting about their philosophies on life and love. Writer/director Theodore Witcher should be commended for this attention to detail and the way he fleshes out the characters. The scenarios they face, and the resolutions to those scenarios, are only so-so.