Themes: Domestic Abuse, Success is the Best Revenge, Crumbling Marriages
Main Cast: Angela Bassett, Laurence Fishburne, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Jenifer Lewis, Phyllis Stickney
Release Year: 1993
Country: US
Run Time: 118 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
What's Love Got to Do With It? is the filmed biography of R&B/pop singer Tina Turner (Angela Bassett), documenting her efforts to break away from her abusive husband Ike (Laurence Fishburne). After a few scenes detailing Tina's life as a young singer in Nutbush, TN, she's discovered by Ike Turner, an already established songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Ike takes Tina under his wing and makes her a star, but her fame makes him jealous and abusive, and she has to struggle to break free of his domination. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide
Review
What's Love Got to Do With It? was one of the rare films which garnered Oscar nominations for both its leads, yet met with critical indifference in all other respects. As Angela Bassett smiles through her tears and Laurence Fishburne glowers in the background, the actors expertly create a dynamic marked by hours of untold intimidation beyond that which director Brian Gibson chooses to dramatize. Whispering sweet nothings to his wife one moment and dragging her by the scalp the next, Fishburne gets under the skin of one of music's most hair-trigger personalities, which earned the actor the best notices of his career. Bassett's crumbling confidence and wrenching sadness pierce the viewer's very heart, making for an equally unforgettable performance that works just as well as an impersonation of Tina Turner's unique vocal swagger. Not only do the performers shine individually, but also as a professional team devoted to true emotions and moments, having worked together as husband and wife just two years before in Boyz 'N the Hood. The raw physicality of their craft shines through. But Gibson's film is quite conventional in much of its other methodology, which makes it less than the sum of its two outstanding parts. Since the Turners' abusive co-dependent relationship is the hook everybody knows about, a lot of what leads up to it seems like bland biopic window dressing. Still, it's hard to pick too much at an essentially actor-driven film that packs such a wallop in its area of strength. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Khandi Alexander - Darlene; Pamela Tyson - Leanne; Penny Johnson - Lorraine; Rae'Ven Larrymore-Kelly - Young Anna Mae; Chi - Fross; Helen Brown - Old Woman #2; Owen Bush - Old Man; Virginia Capers - Choir Mistress; Michael Colyar - Apollo Announcer; Gregory Cook - The Revue; Cora Lee Day - Grandma Georgiana; John Fink - Anna's Lawyer; David Fresco - Old Man #3; Sonia Hensley - Audience Female #2; Damon Hines - Ronnie Turner; Scott Irish; Rosemary Jackson - 5th Ikette; Rob La Belle - Phil Spector; Robert Lesser - Fairmount MC; Staci Lords; Daniel McDonald - London Announcer; Robert Miranda; Michael Monks - Hotel Porter; Kenny Moore - Piano Player; Page Moseley - Ritz Announcer; Herb Muller - Old Man #2; Barry O'Neill; James Ralston - Guitarist; James Reyne - Roger Davies; Summer Rose; Shavar Ross - Michael Turner; Wynonna Smith - 4th Ikette; Sparkle - Old Woman #1; Tina Turner; Oren Waters - Choir Member; Rudolph Willrich - Judge; Jacqueline Woolsey - Boutique Clerk; Daniel Allan Carlin - Conductor; Sharon Kane; Morris O'Connor - Kings of Rhythm; Sherman Augustus - Reggie; Mayah McCoy - Young Hairdresser; Eartha Robinson - Woman in Audience; Jennifer Leigh Warren - Woman in Audience; Reuben Cannon; Patricia Sill - Spector's Assistant; Natalie Wilson - Choir Member; O'Neal Compton - Ramada Inn Manager; Richard T. Jones - Ike Turner Jr.; Suli McCullough - Craig Turner; Lorna Scott - Nurse; Barry "Shabaka" Henley - El Paso Doctor; Gene "Groove" Allen - Club Announcer; Terrence Riggins - Spider; Kate Lanier - Stripper on Balcony; Terrence Evans - Bus Driver; Richard Livingston - Manager #3; Richard Stay - Party Goer #1; Walter Davis - The Revue; Michael Smith - The Revue; Michael Butler - The Revue
Credit
Richard L. Johnson - Art Director, Michael Peters - Choreography, Pat Kehoe - Co-producer, Ruth E. Carter - Costume Designer, Brian Gibson - Director, Lisa Day - Editor, Michael Hill - Editor, Stuart H. Pappe - Editor, David Rawlins - Editor, Stanley Clarke - Composer (Music Score), Stephen Altman - Production Designer, Pat Kehoe - Production Designer, Jamie Anderson - Cinematographer, Doug Chapin - Producer, Barry Krost - Producer, Mario Iscovich - Producer, Rick Simpson - Set Designer, Kate Lanier - Screenwriter, Al Laverde - Key Grip, Kurt Loder - Book Author, Tina Turner - Book Author
