LOVE JONES

Tired of Hollywood's representation of black men as gun-toting, booty-obsessed gangsters? Writer/director Theodore Witcher's Love Jones shows that blacks can be just as sensitive, intelligent, and downright pretentious as whites. Well, that might be a tad harsh. When Darius (Larenz Tate) and Nina (Nia Long) aren't quoting great poets or reciting their own dreadful verse, they're likable. He's an aspiring novelist, she's an aspiring photographer, and though both claim to be just "kickin' it" with each other, they can't help falling in love. Soon, though, ex-lovers, friends (MTV Jam's smarmy Bill Bellamy, for one), insecurities, and jealousies get in the way, and the two find themselves stubbornly alone, each waiting for the phone to ring.

As far as love stories go, this one's fairly complex and credible. But it seems endless, and most scenes play like the meaningful-to-have but meaningless-to-watch conversations you might have with friends. Ah, the fine line between vérité and banalité. At the Showcase Cinemas.

-- Mark Bazer