ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996             TAG: 9610210107
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 12   EDITION: METRO 
                                             TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT

'BUS' HAS USUAL SPIKE LEE FLAIR

Legendary Hollywood producer Sam Goldwyn said, "If you want to send a message, use Western Union."

Spike Lee disagrees.

"Get on the Bus" is an unapologetic message movie based on last year's Million Man March. It's also a road movie, a cross-country bus trip that begins in a church parking lot in Los Angeles and ends at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

On the bus are a dozen or so black men, each with his own reasons for going to the march. One driver, George (Charles S. Dutton), becomes the unofficial leader, though the oldest, Jeremiah (Ossie Davis), is the group's (and the film's) spiritual center. He's looking for "a miracle on the Mall."

Evan (Thomas Jefferson Byrd) is literally chained to his troubled teen-aged son (DeAundre Bonds). Flip (Andre Braugher) is an arrogant actor who's quick to criticize everyone else. Film student Xavier (Hill Harper) tries to catch everything on his camcorder. A gay couple, (Harry Lennix and Isaiah Washington) are in the middle of a messy break-up and their very presence on the bus is enough to disrupt some of the others. Rick (Richard Belzer) is a Jewish bus driver who's less than completely comfortable with the march and the people behind it.

March organizer Louis Farrakhan's anti-Semitism is mentioned briefly and then dismissed. Several other complex political, social and sexual questions get the same once-over-lightly treatment. That's unfortunate and inevitable. Reggie Rock Bythewood's talky script gives each character the opportunity to express his beliefs, to argue with others and to tell the story of his life. Some of those speeches are boring; some are obvious; some are genuinely moving.

Producer-director Spike Lee brings his usual visual flair to the film, belying the limited budget and hurried shooting schedule, a mere three weeks according to the press kit. Lee often casts outdoor scenes in grainy yellow tones. Inside the bus, he uses hand-held cameras and subtle lighting to recreate the rolling claustrophobia of long hours on the interstate.

The unsubtle politics and lack of physical action make "Get on the Bus" a hard sell for audiences that aren't already interested in the subject. In the end, though, the film's simple messages of individual responsibility, self-reliance and forgiveness are universal. And in a time when mainstream Hollywood films almost never attempt to deal with contemporary social issues, it's hard to be overly critical.

Get On the Bus ***

A Columbia Pictures release playing at the Salem Valley 8. 122 minutes. Rated R for strong language.

LENGTH: Medium:   60 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  Flip, played by Andre Braugher (left), is filmed by 
          Xavier (Hill Harper), a film student, in a scene from "Get on the 
          Bus." color.