This is one of the most effective and visceral movies I’ve ever seen. It is a vividly realized depiction of a great man’s life anchored by an astonishing performance from Denzel Washington.

A little history before we dive into the movie. Malcolm X was one of the primary figures in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. Before that he lead a varied and colorful life with a lot of ups and downs. He is primarily taught in schools as being the militant antithesis to Martin Luther King Jr.‘s peaceful protester. The film offers a much more complete picture of the man that I got in all my years of schooling. It dispelled some myths and showed me a new side to an historical icon.

The production of the film begins with Marvin Worth who actually met Malcolm X when they were kids in Detroit. In 1967, Worth bought the rights to Alex Haley’s The Autobiography of Malcolm X. He worked for 25 years to get the film made. Eventually Warner Bros. signed on to produce the film with Norman Jewison set to direct. Jewison brought Denzel Washington on board to Star. However, public outcry over the choice of director opened the chair for Spike Lee to take over.

Lee was coming off a string of successes. After the monster smash of Do the right Thing, his two follow ups were met with strong financial reception if not wild block buster success. He had dreamed of making a Malcolm X biopic since his college days and wanted to give this story everything he had as a filmmaker. And he didn’t hold back.

The film opens with one of the best uses of film language I’ve ever seen. A speech from Malcolm X is heard in voice over condemning white violence. This is played over images of Rodney King being beaten by the police. This is intercut with the image of an American flag. As the images and the voice over grow in intensity, the flag catches fire and burns away until all that’s left is an X. It is dramatic, angry, and inflammatory. It’s also incredible filmmaking.

The filmmaking throughout is stunning. It has the sweep and scope of a David Lean epic, but it doesn’t shortchange us on the specific details of its time and place. Massive montages of speeches and cultural changes are married with intimate moments of Malcolm’s family at home. And every moment is infused with energy and vibrancy. Early on young Malcolm has his hair straightened. The way Lee films the disgusting looking chemicals used. The way his edits get faster and faster. The way his framing gets tighter. It all adds up to an incredibly intense and suspenseful scene.

Malcolm begins as a street hustling kid who becomes a violent criminal, running numbers and selling drugs. He falls under the wing of “West Indian” Archie played by the inimitable Delroy Lindo. He’s a gangster who makes being a gangster look so cool. He’s suave and charming then steely and frightening. His ultimate fate and Malcolm’s reaction to him is one of the most incredible scenes I’ve seen. It’s powerful in the most subtle way.

Malcolm ends up in prison where he meets Baines played by Albert Hall. Baines is a convict who has converted to Islam. He challenges all of Malcolm’s beliefs and shows him a different way of looking at himself and his community. There’s a fascinating scene in which they look up the words black and white in the dictionary. White is the color of purity, honesty, and goodness. Black means evil, wicked, and corrupt. The scene angered me the first time I saw it because it demonstrates how racism is baked into the very language we use. This scene and the movie as a whole frustrated me. It challenged me and forced me to think about the world in a different way. I think that frustration is rewarded, but it’s not always an easy film to watch.

Baines helps Malcolm convert to Islam and helps him educate himself. Once he leaves prison, Malcolm falls under the tutelage of Elijah Muhammad played by Al Freeman Jr. He’s the charismatic leader of the Nation of Islam. It’s another incredible performance in a movie full of them.

It’s during this time that Malcolm becomes the fiery preacher we’ve all heard about. There are several amazing sequences of Washington giving it his all reciting Malcolm’s actual speeches to huge rooms of people. Washington’s ability to subtly change his tone depending on his audience is some exquisite acting.

He also meets and falls in love with Betty Shabazz played by a wonderful Angela Bassett. These two have some beautifully sensitive and tender scenes that perfectly offset the grandiose culture shifts the film depicts. She walks a fine line with her performance and brings so much to this movie.

Malcolm’s journey is absolutely incredible. From a criminal to a preacher to a man who tempers his more extreme views in service of bringing the world together. It’s an amazing journey, and I love it.

This review is threatening to become longer than the film itself which is a feat considering the films gargantuan 201 minute runtime. There’s a lot of life to cover in this one. I found it riveting and worth the runtime, but I know that won’t be the case for everyone. An intimidating runtime could turn people off. If that’s the case for you I would recommend watching it in sections. I think it’s worth seeing even if it isn’t seen all in one shot. It’s certainly a better film than the recent Snyder cut, and that film was even longer.

The film is confrontational. It sets out to challenge its audience. I know that doesn’t exactly sound like a fun movie night to most people. I think the viewing it in pieces is a good way to counteract this too. Watch it in segments. Think about it. Digest it. It’s a movie that demands more engagement than a passive viewing experience.

One final criticism; there are no title cards. I found myself lost and confused a few times in the narrative. What city are we in? What year is it? It pulled me out a little as I tried to piece it all together. For a big movie getting lost in the narrative is a problem.

All that said. I think this movie is amazing. I love every minute of it. It’s a stunning piece of filmmaking that totally floors me when I watch it. I love this movie. I think everyone should give it a shot, but I understand if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. It’s currently streaming on HBO max.

It’s my cup of tea for sure. A+

Getting back into Spike Lee’s filmography we return with Jungle Fever. This is a movie with moments of transcendent greatness that falls short in its execution.

Spike Lee followed up Mo’ Better Blues with Jungle Fever. Mo’ Better Blues was not a big hit at the box office and received mixed response from critics. Most critics felt it was a let down from the heights of Do The Right Thing which is often the case. When someone makes a world shattering masterpiece any follow up is going to be a disappointment and receive some backlash.

The backlash against Mo’ Better Blues was rather pointed however. One specific aspect stuck out to some critics. That was the depiction of Moe and Josh Flatbush played by John and Nicholas Turturro. They were Jewish club owners who exploited the band for profit. This depiction ran afoul of the Anti Defamation League. Lee stood by his work saying that…

“if critics are telling me that to avoid charges of anti-Semitism, all Jewish characters I write have to be model citizens, and not one can be a villain, cheat or a crook, and that no Jewish people have ever exploited black artists in the history of the entertainment industry, that’s unrealistic and unfair.”

Lee’s dedication to his characters and his refusal to backdown from controversy lead to Jungle Fever. A film about interracial relationships, drug addiction, and racial tensions. The film follows Wesley Snipes who plays a successful architect with a loving wife and a delightful daughter. When Annabella Sciorra enters his office as a new secretary, the two begin a torrid affair. Sciorra is from a very traditional Italian family. Who react very badly when they discover she’s sleeping with a black man. Snipes faces his own excoriation when his wife and friends discover he’s having an affair especially with a white woman.

Snipes is great. He’s charming and has wonderful screen presence here. It’s easy to get on his side even when he’s behaving very badly. Sciorra is also wonderful. She has such feistiness yet such vulnerability. She walks that line and creates a full life on screen. The thing is, this central relationship seems tertiary to Lee’s true interests. Lee surrounds these two with far more interesting and compelling material.

Samuel L Jackson plays Snipes’s brother Gator. He’s a crack addict who charms their mother out of petty cash and outright lies to her to score money for drugs. He dances and twitches his way through the movie all the way to an Oscar nomination, his first. His journey through addiction is clearly something Lee wanted to explore, and he found the perfect actor to take it on. Jackson himself had just gotten clean after years of drug addiction and channeled those experiences into his performance. He is utterly convincing in this role. There is a scene in which Snipes goes looking for Gator and he ends up in a crack house. It is a scene that encapsulates the crack epidemic of the 80’s and 90’s. The scene is horrifying in its implications. It’s like something out of Dante’s inferno.

Another group of character’s Lee is clearly interested in is Paulie who owns a little shop. He’s played by John Turturro. He’s a mild mannered young man with a terrible 90’s haircut who was engaged to Sciorra’s character before the affair with Snipes. His place is inhabited by the regular guys who are all varying degrees of racist. There scenes are full of some of the most interesting contradictions on film. They complain about the black mayor, but refuse to vote. They hate black people but love hip hop music. Paulie lives with his father played by Anthony Quinn. Quinn is especially powerful in one scene in which he tells Paulie about marriage. Its a fascinating scene that is absolutely to notch.

There is one more scene that is a true A+. It involves Snipes and Sciorra. They are at this point living together. On their way home, they begin play fighting. A flirty kind of wrestling that looks real enough to someone across the street who calls the cops. When the people show up, the resulting scene is one of the most abrupt, horrifying, and suspenseful ever captured. It puts us completely in the point of view of someone on the receiving end of aggressive policing. It is a challenging scene. to sit through. It gives the viewer a lot to think about.

Finally, there is one final scene that has to be addressed. Snipes’s wife is named Drew, played by Lonette McKee. After she discovers the affair, she and her friends sit in her living room and discuss the implications. Drew is light skinned and wonders if her husband married her because of her light complexion. Her darker skinned friends address how they’ve always been made to feel different. These women offer hard truths and share deep seated fears and insecurities regarding color. It’s revealing scene that addresses topics I’ve never been exposed to. It turns out the scene was real. These women are sharing real feelings improvised on the spot. There is so much truth in this scene that the movie is worth watching for it alone.

These scenes and moments are undeniably great, but the movie as a whole doesn’t work. There isn’t enough connective tissue to pull these moments together. The story is about an affair, but it’s really about everyone around the affair. The central relationship never feels real inspire of the lead actors talents. the movie just does not come together as a unified narrative. For that reason it is a series of peaks and troughs rather than a great movie through and through.

I’d say watch it for the challenging narrative and hard truths it exposes. I’d also say don’t be surprised if it’s not the best movie you’ve seen. It’s narrative shakiness really diminishes the overall impact. Also it has the most annoying opening song of all time. It is repetitive and childish, and it got stuck in my head for a week. I hope I never hear it again. When I rewatch this movie, I will skip the opening credits for sure.

It’s mostly my cup of tea. B+

It is hard to find. This one is not online anywhere. I had to buy a second hand DVD. It’s worth watching if you can get a copy though.

Spike Lee’s fourth film is a celebration of music and color. It features a stellar performance from Denzel Washington, thrilling music, and an exciting use of color.

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing premiered at Cannes in 1989. It was met with massive controversy. People believed it would cause race riots and violence. People objected to the depictions of Italians, African Americans, and police in the film. After the storm subsided, Lee returned with a film that couldn’t be more different.

Bill Lee is a well known jazz musician. He plays a number of instruments for a myriad of artists. He’s also an accomplished composer. He is also the father of Spike Lee. Bill Lee instilled one his son a love of music that can be seen on display in all of his films. In each of his previous films there is at least one extended musical number. School Daze itself is a musical. Mo’ Better Blues is a fascinating look at one mans relationship with music and how he sacrifices all else for his music.

The film follows Bleek Gilliam, a jazz trumpeter who knows exactly what he wants musically and not a thing about what he wants for the rest of his life. The film introduced Bleek as a child being forced to practice his trumpet by his mother. She makes young Bleek send his friends away so he can continue practicing. It’s a moment that comes to define Bleek’s life.

Bleek as an adult is played by Denzel Washington. This is the first of four collaborations between Washington and Lee. Here Washington is magnetic. He carries such intensity of thought in his eyes. His every gesture is executed for maximum impact. He is intense and focused on his music and distracted and distant when dealing with people. It’s an amazing performance. Watch the movie for the lesson in acting Washington gives.

Bleek has a good friend ironically named Giant, played by Spike Lee. He’s a gambler who bets too much on every game, but believes he’ll win this time much like every gambler. What’s interesting here is that Giant is never shown winning. He makes several bets, but he always comes out the loser. Movies tend to glorify anything they depict, and when an audience sees someone winning a bet, it looks like the coolest most thrilling thing that can happen. Winning tends to overshadow the losses in movies, so when movies try to sermonize on the dangers of gambling they still inadvertently make gambling look really cool. Lee sidesteps that here by showing only the danger and downside. It’s a really smart decision that pays off in a gut wrenching later scene.

Bleek plays in a club with a backing band that has plenty of disagreements chief among them how much they’re getting paid. These backstage scenes have the thrill of improvised moments. They just soar as these actors are able to play off each other and play the energy of the moment. The scenes rise and fall like a roller coaster. It’s a ton of fun to be in the room with these guys.

The use of color is fascinating here. Lee uses colored lights and colored costumes in a deeply attracted fashion to emphasize certain moments and isolate characters from the background. Not only does this use of color create some stunning compositions, but it also highlights the most important dramatic moments of the film. It’s a beautiful movie to look at.

Bleek’s main tension in the film is between his music and the two women he’s with. We are first introduced to Indigo Downes, plate by Joie Lee, Spike’s sister. She and Bleek share a really nice moment together before she leaves. Then we meet Clarke Bentancourt, played by Cynda Williams. She interrupts his playing for a sex scene. It’s another classic Spike Lee sex scene. It’s strange and oddly shot, but also fascinating. It’s nowhere near as weird and cringe inducing as the sex scene in School Daze, but it is odd. Both actresses rise above what could be considered underwritten roles. They give their characters depth and independence that is lacking on the page.

The film is unlike any of his other films in that it primarily focuses on one character and his journey rather than a large group of people or a community. It’s singular focus without sacrificing the side characters. Spike Lee populates his film with interesting and varied personalities like few filmmakers do.

The musical numbers in the movie are actually really exciting to watch. I worried they’d be full. Just watching people playing instruments isn’t exactly riveting filmmaking. However the way Lee shoots and edits these scenes gives them a life that captivated me throughout.

Now, with all that going for it, does the movie work as a whole? Almost. The movie sags in the middle as plot threads are set up that will lead to a climactic moment. Once that incredibly powerful moment takes place the movie sort of rushes to its conclusion obscuring a what could have been a riveting story in the process. I guess my main complaint is that I wanted more movie.

This one isn’t as important as his other films, but it is smoother and more polished. The filmmaking here is a little more streamlined and fluid not so rough around the edges. Watching it gives the sense that here, Spike Lee is defining his style.

I definitely recommend it and not just to people studying Spike Lee. It’s a really entertaining and well made movie with its fair share of problems, but more than enough positives to make up for it.

It’s my cup of tea. B+

This is one of those big movies that carries the heavy reputation of being”important!” I was pleasantly surprised to discover a movie brimming with rich characters, delightful filmmaking, and a wildly entertaining energy all in the service of a very serious subject matter.

Following the commercial success of School Daze, Spike Lee looked to current events for inspiration. A series of racially motivated violence as well as a viewing of an old episode of Alfred Hitchcock presents inspired him to make a film about race relations and how extreme can push people to the edge of violence.

To secure funding, he returned to Paramount Pictures (the studio behind School Days) who agreed to finance the movie. However, when Lee refused to alter the ending, Paramount pulled out. Luckily for Lee Universal Studios had just experienced great success and controversy with Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. The studio was eager for another controversial hit and agreed to finance the film with no interference.

The film is really about the residents of a Brooklyn neighborhood and how they interact with one another during the hottest day of the year. The neighborhood is predominantly black, aside from its two local businesses;a grocery store owned by a Korean family, and an authentic Italian pizzeria run by Sal and his sons.

Sal is played by Danny Aiello. He’s a big classic Italian American, but due to Aiello’s nuanced performance he is never just a stereotype. Sal’s son Pino, played by an excellent John Turturro, hates his job. He hates that the pizzeria is in a black neighborhood. That black neighborhood is populated by some wonderful and vibrant characters.

Da Mayor, played by Ossie Davis, is an elderly gentleman who wanders the streets looking for a drink and anyone who’ll listen to him about the way things used to be. Mother Sister, played by Ruby Dee, is like everyone’s grandma. She looks after everyone in the neighborhood. There’s Radio Raheem, played by Bill Nunn, who blasts music on his boombox go drown out the world. There’s also Mookie, played by Spike Lee, who works for Sal. He’s like a son to Sal, and he’s trying to make a little something for himself and his infant son. The mother of his son is Tina, played by Rosie Perez in her first role.

The movie isn’t about one person so much as it is about the tapestry of people who occupy this neighborhood. It’s a true ensemble filled with amazingly well drawn characters who crackle with every interaction.

Race is a key theme in this film. The movie actually opens with an extended dance sequence that essentially encapsulates the movie in the interaction between dance and musical styles. If you don’t know what happens in the movie I won’t reveal it here. I was only vaguely aware when I saw it and I think that’s the best way to see it. Let the film unfold naturally. Let’s it’s tensions build and suck you in the way it did me. That ending is a powerhouse and it should be experienced without prior knowledge.

Of course the movie is incredibly controversial. Anything dealing with the subject of race is going to be controversial, but this film famously elicited divided opinions upon its release. The ending and it’s message have been debated ever since? Did Mookie do the right thing? Did anybody? This film should be seen and digested and discussed. It asks important questions and causes the viewer to think about different perspectives a little bit deeper.

That might all sound very heavy and important, and it is. But it’s also really fun to watch. As we’ve seen so far in his films, Spike Lee uses the camera and sound design in exciting and unique ways. The script is sharp and vibrant. The pacing is fast. The production design is top notch. It’s a great film.

I would just encourage anybody who thinks this movie is too serious or heavy or depressing or important for its own good, put aside everything you’ve heard and give it viewing for yourself. It’s worth it.

My cup of tea. A+

Spike Lee’s second feature film is a wild musical comedy that is disjointedbut also invigorating, refreshing and honest.

When Spike Lee first attempted to conquer Hollywood he did so with a script. He went to every studio that would meet with him with a script about college life on historically black college campuses. Everyone rejected him. He returned home to Brooklyn and shot She’s Gotta Have It. That film went on to make $7million at the box office (against a budget of $175,000) and help usher in a new wave of independent cinema. With that clout and success Lee returned to Hollywood with his college life script and found the doors open and the money available. He used his newfound clout to produce School Daze.

As with She’s Gotta Have It, Lee wrote, produced, directed, and costars in School Daze. Set against the backdrop of homecoming weekend, Lee weaves a tale of fraternity pledges, campus protests, and romantic relationships. underneath it all is a discussion of race that is challenging and deeply insightful. On top of that it’s also a musical.

The film follows an array of people navigating life on campus. Dap, played by Lawrence Fishburne, is a protester and activist on campus. The university has money invested in South Africa which at the time still operated under Apartheid. Sap and his fellow protesters are in constant conflict with the men of the Gamma Phi Gamma fraternity lead by Julian “Dean Big Brother Almighty” player by Giancarlo Esposito. The fraternity objects to the protest and uses their pledges in a humiliating demonstration to disrupt the protest.

This campus is populated by fascination people. To say the movie is about Dap vs Julian is reductive. It leaves out Darrell “Half-Pint” player by Spike Lee. He’s Dap’s cousin and he’s pledging Gamma. For him the weekend is about who’s he’s going to become and what kind of person the fraternity is going to turn him into. It also leaves out Jane, Julian’s girlfriend and head of the Gamma sorority. She loves Julian and wants to support the fraternity, but at what cost? It would also leave out Rachel. She’s been dating Dap but struggles with her own identity and place on campus. There isn’t one central conflict. There are a million. This film presents a kaleidoscopic view of life on campus.

This wide view is held together by some strong central themes. Classism, elitism, and colorism are a few of the biggest themes the movie tackles.

There’s a fantastic sequence where Dap and his friends discuss how far they should take their political activism. Dap’s friends are all for the cause, but none of them want to risk their place at the school with potential expulsion. Their parents worked so hard so they could be the first ones to go to college. Following this they go to a restaurant where they encounter a group of locals lead by Leeds played by Samuel L Jackson. The locals give the college kids a hard time. Dap insists they are all brothers. At which Leeds berates the kids for coming to town taking all the jobs and looking down on the locals. The college boys drive home and have a quiet scene where they let it all sink in. These three scenes in connection are such an amazing distillation of the themes of the film. It’s worth watching the movie just for this.

The other big theme of the film is colorism. the light skinned women of the gamma rays sorority have it out with the darker skinned women in a massive old fashioned Hollywood musical number. They clash over skin color and hair. Natural vs straightened hair. The fact that Spike Lee turns this debate and very sensitive topic into a musical number is a brilliant decision. It turns what would have been and awkward and potentially vitriolic scene into a something that can be more easily digested. It also interprets conflict through dance. As the women dance and out dance each other with varying styles it brings home the conflict without turning it into a slugfest. He follows the old musical rule. Talk until the emotions become too much at which point you sing. Sing until the emotions become too much. Then you dance. It’s a stunning musical number.

Just two movies in and some strong motifs start to turn up in his work. The first is that everyone is heard from. Every perspective is given a chance to speak. The other is music as a means of expressing theme. I’m Shes Gotta Have It, there is a dance sequence shot in vivid color in the middle of the film. In School Daze, there is an over abundance of musical moments.

That over abundance is really the problem with the movie. There are too many musical moments. Too many songs that don’t always serve a point. Too many sex scenes including the weirdest sex scene I’ve ever scene in a movie. There is too much hazing. There are endless scenes of the Gamma men hazing the pledges. It’s just too much.

Looking back at the film it’s very disjointed. There are scenes of deep realism followed by scenes of absurd comedy followed by tragic moments followed by musical numbers. In the moment it all works and flows, but looking back it feels like I watched a couple of different movies.

Full disclosure I was expecting to hate this movie. I’m not a big fan of college comedies, but there is so much more going on in this one. It opened my eyes to problems and discussions I never knew existed. I feel like I peaked behind the curtain and saw a brand new perspective I hadn’t considered before. there is so much going on in this movie to think about discuss and absorb. The movie feels fresh, prescient, and relevant today. Definitely check it out. It’s available to rent anywhere you rent your movies.

It’s my cup of tea. A-

Thirty four years ago Spike Lee burst onto the scene with his feature directorial debut. She’s Gotta Have It is a narrative breath of fresh air. It bursts with invention and excitement. It’s a messy sometimes dated movie that remains engaging and entertaining all these years later.

Born in Atlanta as Shelton Jackson Lee, Spike (his mother called him Spike) was surrounded by art and music. His father was jazz composer Bill Lee and his mother taught arts and Black literature. Early in his childhood his family moved to the city that would become a massive influence on all of Spike’s films; Brooklyn.

Spike earned a degree from Morehouse college then studied film at NYU. His thesis film won him a Student Academy Award. He went to Hollywood hoping the award would open doors for him and jumpstart his career as a film director. He found nothing but closed doors, so he returned home to make She’s Gotta Have It. Shot in two weeks on black and white film with local talent in front of and behind the camera, Spike Lee pulled out all the stops to make Shes Gotta Have It something special.

The story follows Nola Darling, a artist who knows what she wants and isn’t afraid to get it. In this case that means the love of three different men. The first is Jamie, played by Tommy Redmond Hicks. Jamie is sentive, strong, and straight forward. He’s also a little old fashioned and wants Nola to commit to him and only him. The second is Greer, played by John Canada Terrell. He is a vapid, shallow, douche. He is the kind if guy who is constantly working out and talking about his body is a temple. Then there’s Mars Blackmon played by Spike Lee himself. Mars is quite the character. He’s loud, immature, and goofy. He’s like the little kid sitting at the grown ups table.

These three men navigate the tricky waters of all vying for and enjoying the affections of one woman. There is a lot of sex in this movie. It’s a highly sexual film. There’s nudity and graphic discussions, but it never feels vulgar or excessive or out of place. The movie is about sex, and it doesn’t shy away from depicting that subject in a realistic and complicated way.

The film is often beautifully shot. The black and white cinematography is stark and stunning. However there are moments where the camera is out of focus. Sometimes it looks like the framing was just wrong for the moment. And there are some very weird and out of place edits.

There are also a few moments where the acting is very clumsy and awkward. Where line delivery is stilted and forced. For the most part the performances are fantastic and real. They create a lived in feeling. However some scenes could have used a second take.

That’s the thing about all these criticisms. The film was shot in two weeks. Most films are shot in 3 or 4 months. The messy and awkward quality the film sometimes has is the result of pulling off an impossible feat.

The movie is made with a verve for storytelling. It pushes the boundaries of storytelling and explores every aspect of the film medium. Most of the film plays out like any narrative film would, but the narrative is interrupted repeatedly by the characters directly addressing the camera and talking to the audience about the situation and how they feel about it. This documentary feel allows greater depth to the characters, and gives everyone a chance to express their side of the story. Everyone has a unique perspective. Everyone has the opportunity to be more than their type. Jaimie is not just a strong noble guy. Greer isn’t just a douche. Mars isn’t just a loudmouth. Everyone is more than what they appear to be, and this film wants to show us that.

This aspect above all is what carries through Spike Lees work. The idea that there are no heroes and monsters. In the real world everyone is a shade of everything. Everyone has the capacity to be good and bad and everywhere in between. Spine Lee starts his journey as a filmmaker looking at complicated people in a complicated situation, and every film he makes following this one will do the same.

She’s Gotta Have It is currently streaming on Netflix. Watch it for an exciting storyteller bursting out with creative energy. Watch it for a surprisingly modern take on love stories. Give it a chance. It’s a fun and rewarding experience. Definitely my cup of tea A