Stoutor
It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.
Kien Navarro
Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.
Raymond Sierra
The film may be flawed, but its message is not.
tieman64
Spike Lee's "Get On the Bus" sees a group of African-American men boarding a bus to Washington, DC. Once there they hope to attend the Million Man March. The brainchild of Louis Farrakhan, the event was staged in an attempt to draw attention to the various social and economic ills plaguing the African-American community.Much "African American art" between the period of 1985-1995 took aim at what was perceived to have been a failure in black manhood (the March itself excluded women). Black problems were seen to be exclusively a "black problem", and one which could be fixed if only black males "became better role models", "stopped blaming whites", "stopped engaging in crime" and "picked themselves up by their bootstraps". Blacks, in other words, should improve their conditions, a stance which radical African American activist Carl Dix would mock: "Black youth pulling up their pants doesn't stop factories moving half way around the world. Don't treat results as if they're causes!" Lee's "Get On The Bus" is another tract which ignores systems and mistakes results and causes. His film's bus is filled with various characters, all of whom are stereotypes. And so we meet the wise black man, the religious black man, the gay black man, the hard working black man, the young artist, the middle-aged actor, the Jewish bus driver, the homophobe, the civil worker, the mixed race black man, the tough guy, the bad father, the petty criminal, the sensitive guy etc. After he sets up various preconceptions and clichés, Lee then reverses them by employing various countercliches. By its end, "Bus" posits black progress as being dependent upon the negotiation of conflicting attitudes, and the weathering of both generational shifts and divisions within black communities. The film's opening sequence, which conveys all the film's themes in a concise manner, exemplifies this. Here we see shots of an African in chains, whilst the lyrics to Michael Jackson's "On The Line" unfold: "No sense pretending it's over, hard times just don't go away, you must take that chip off your shoulder, open up and have some faith. Nothing good ever comes easy, all good things come in due time, have something to believe in, open your mind." "Get On The Bus" sports fine performances by Charles S. Dutton and Wendell Pierce, the latter playing a Republican businessman who is comically thrown off Lee's bus (another Republican stays on). The rest of Lee's cast are unconvincing, largely due to a heavy handed, overly didactic screenplay. The film was shot on a tiny budget over the course of 18 days.6/10 – Worth one viewing.
seen1981
Im from Australia,brisbane queensland to be exact,I first laid eyes on this movie in approx 1997 on cable TV it was a late night showing as is with ALL spike lee movies in this country we do get em,they just don't get much coverage,exception of INSIDE MAN.I watched this movie in 1997 and i was 16 back then,the movie didn't really impact me at all,but then i saw it again on cable-3years later when i was 19..i was blown away by the simplicity of its execution,it raises questions within yourself within others its soundtrack and music is absolutely heaven to listen to!The movie is shot in a condensed fashion with lots of grain and the emotional elements of the film play out nicely,this movie is a hidden gem,in a perfect world this movie should have received better recognition.I will always treasure this film and iv seen it about 50million times too.Hail spike lee your a winner!so keep on pushin!! 10 all the way.
Isaac5855
Spike Lee, in my mind a hit and miss director, hit a bullseye with GET ON THE BUS. This engrossing 1996 comedy-drama follows a group of black men who take a bus trip from a Los Angeles suburb, en route to the Million Man March in Washington DC. I love movies that focus on fictional characters involved in a real life event and Lee has put together a most interesting collection of characters and thrown them together for this personal journey to a history-making event. Some of the finest African American talent has been assembled to make this story work. Andre Braugher shines as Flip, a self-absorbed actor, waiting to hear about the results of an audition, who you have to really wonder why he is even interested in attending the march. Isaiah Washington plays a closeted homosexual whose soon to be ex-lover (Harry Lennix) pretty much outs him in front of everyone on the bus. A father (Thomas Jefferson Byrd) is accompanied by his son (De'Aundre Bonds) who, because of a court order, has to be in shackles for the entire trip. Hill Harper plays a film student who has decided to film the march for a school project. Roger Guevenor Smith plays a light-skinned black cop who confronts a Muslim passenger (Gabriel Casseus) who has a record and still has a warrant on his head. Richard Belzer plays the paranoid Caucasian driver of the bus whose discomfort with the assignment forces him to quit a couple of hours into the trip forcing the trip leader (the always solid Charles S. Dutton) to take over driving the bus and Ossie Davis adds a touch of dignity as Pop, the only passenger on the bus who was probably at the first march on Washington in the 60's. This is a delicious ensemble peace, lovingly directed and skillfully acted with a music score that is a Motown lover's dream. A minor classic that, if given the opportunity, will move you.
bryanac625
I always intended to watch this movie for a long time but I kept putting it off. I was really surprised at how excellent and well-written this movie actually was. If you enjoy films where a group of diverse people are put into a situation and then left to deal with each other (eg "Twelve Angry Men"), then you must see this movie. This film was also very intelligent. I think too many people believe that if you get a group of black men together for anything, they'll soon be calling each other "nigga" and violence will erupt, not necessarily in that order. About halfway through the movie, I told my wife that the n-word had not been used at all, and no punches had been thrown.But I was wrong.What made it even more interesting was the way the men responded to the person who called everyone "nigga," and there was a fight, which occurred between a homosexual and an arrogant, big-mouthed guy who kept calling him "faggot." I don't condone violence, but the gay guy knocked him down a peg or two, and he certainly had it coming. This film also solidifies Andre Braugher as an incredible actor. He has taken on such diverse roles and here, he was outstanding. So many of these actors were. Almost every scenario and discussion is covered in two hours well spent.
