Jason's Lyric
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Jason's Lyric is a 1994 romance-drama film, written by Bobby Smith, Jr., and directed by Doug McHenry. It stars Allen Payne, Jada Pinkett Smith, Bokeem Woodbine, Treach, Eddie Griffin, Lahmard Tate, and Forest Whitaker. This film is the story about African American young adults who must learn how to deal with love and maturity. This is the first film directed by Doug McHenry, who has been successful as a producer for the film New Jack City.
Plot summary
Jason's Lyric is the "good brother"/"bad brother" story, set in the notorious Fifth Ward. 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. The height comes when Jason and Lyric take a romantic ride in a rowboat, then have explicit 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. Which brother pulled the trigger isn't revealed until the end. Jason pulled the trigger.
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
Trivia
- The abandoned railroad crossing where Lyric is alone is located east of Montrose/Studemont Blvd. in the Houston area. The railroad crossing was demolished in early 2000. A majority of the film takes place in Houston's Fifth Ward, although some of the film was shot in the 3rd Ward (one of the filming locations is the intersection of McGowen and Live Oak streets, along with Emancipation Park in Third Ward). These neighborhoods were named after voter precincts when the City of Houston was founded in 1856.
- Jason is seen driving a customized Chevrolet S-10 pickup with a removable top.
- The "This Is It" Soul Food restaurant is mentioned in the film, located off West Gray in Houston's Freedsmen Town Historical District.
- The film originally received an "NC-17" rating, but after a few seconds were edited from the sex scenes it received an "R" instead.
See also
- Jason's Lyric (soundtrack) — soundtrack to the film.
External links
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