Energetic, uneven but engaging.
Higher Learning (1994)
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Reviews Counted:29
Fresh:14
Rotten:15
Average Rating:5.1/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 19 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: The third installment in John Singleton's trilogy about South Central Los Angeles, HIGHER LEARNING examines mid-1990s university politics from racial, sexual, and economic standpoints. At fictional... The third installment in John Singleton's trilogy about South Central Los Angeles, HIGHER LEARNING examines mid-1990s university politics from racial, sexual, and economic standpoints. At fictional Columbus University (where a statue of the explorer stands witness to the dominant culture's supremacy), three freshman arrive to find a campus ready to explode. Malik (Omar Epps) wavers among the influences of revolution-preaching super-senior Fudge (Ice Cube), no-excuses Professor Phipps (Laurence Fishburne), and his motivated girlfriend Deja (Tyra Banks). Kristen (Kristy Swanson), another neophyte, is thrown into sexual confusion when she meets a charismatic lesbian, while the socially inept Remy (Michael Rapaport) can only fit in with the local skinheads. The storylines cross and complicate as each character tries to discover what's right, but the potential for violence grows with every wrong choice they make. Singleton recruited an emsemble of considerable talent to flesh out the complex plot, which allows him to deal efficiently with a breadth of concerns without preaching. [More]
Starring: Kristy Swanson, Omar Epps, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly
Starring: Kristy Swanson, Omar Epps, Michael Rapaport, Jennifer Connelly, Ice Cube, Tyra Banks, Laurence Fishburne, Busta Rhymes, Regina King, Cole Hauser
Director: John Singleton
Director: John Singleton
Screenwriter: John Singleton
Producer: John Singleton, Paul Hall, Dwight Williams
Composer: Stanley Clarke
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Reviews for Higher Learning
Despite excesses and missteps, there is still a wealth of digestible, thought-provoking material in Higher Learning.
The plot would all mean something if Singleton offered his characters any engaging conflicts--they all seem recycled from movies of the week.
A flawed endeavor... but still an entertaining and thought-provoking film.
It's not as dispensable as Singleton's sophomore effort, Poetic Justice, but it's a long way from the assured freshman storytelling of Boyz N the Hood.
An extremely mixed bag, combining lyrical images and sharp-edged drama with dull cliches and contrivances that border on the ridiculous.
With Higher Learning ... Singleton, as writer-director, tackles larger issues with more insight and confidence.
Higher Learning presents a profoundly uninspired and misguided piece that seems prompted by little more than a desire to make a Big Statement.
Singleton has made all the right political moves given his complicated circumstances, but he hasn't really made a movie of them.
For every persuasive insight John Singleton brings to Higher Learning, his thoughtful but flawed movie about multiculturalism and racism, he throws in something equally disappointing.
Higher Learning is often clichéd, unfocused and didactic. But Singleton has a goal most of his contemporaries have given up on: He wants to make a movie that makes a difference.
Presenting problems is not the same as dramatizing them successfully, and as strong as his message is, Singleton has not found the best way to deliver it.
Singleton deserves praise for shining the spotlight on some of today’s biggest social issues; it’s just unfortunate that the laws of cinema ultimately blunt some of his messages.
A film which surprisingly embraces the very stereotypes and attitudes which on the surface it claims to reject.
Latest News for Higher Learning
December 08, 2005:
Singleton to Drive Paramount's "Convoy"
The Hollywood Reporter brings news of director John Singleton's next project, an auto-intensive action thriller called "Convoy." More...
August 11, 2005:
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This week at the movies gives us four brothers with vigilante justice on their minds, a woman who discovers the frightening secrets of an old house on the bayou, a band of... More...
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| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
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