IClaudius7 Saw this for the first time because I come from the Detroit area. Granted, I am from the Detroit area circa 1956 so the culture may have changed by 1992 but I thought the issues were similar for a white guy growing up in a black dominated inner city. The issues rung true for any of the "rust belt" cities of Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, etc. I thought Michael Rapaport was credible as were the largely black supporting cast. The school administrator who said "Stick with your tribe" reflected what most people would have said about multi-racial dating. The plot was somewhat predictable, BUT nonetheless believable and worthy of Oliver Stone's endorsement of the story by lending his name to the production. In short, it was definitely worth seeing.

Rilchiam-1 I love this movie. Really, really love it. I went to a school like this with kids like these. I went home to a house like that. I was in the cafeteria the day a racially-charged situation almost went to critical mass, and I was part of a group discussion the following week, in which nothing was resolved.Which is what I like most about this movie. It doesn't end with everyone singing. Or dancing, or marching towards the camera, or anything like that. The goomba and the Spike Lee guy duke it out while the Asian girl despairs (as I did), and the white guy and black girl embrace each other hopelessly. That is life. Some differences will never be resolved, and the best you can hope for is that *some* people will reach each other. I was praying all along that this would not have some pat ending that could never have happened at my school, and I was rewarded. There are no resolutions, just moments.

DunnDeeDaGreat Take Save The Last Dance minus the dance and do a role reversal and you get ZebraHead. This movie which touches on interracial dating was one of the best little seen films of 1992. Micheal Rappot as Zack proved his leading man stauts at early age in this powerful film. I think if the film were released today it'd be just as powerful. If you haven't seen it you should.

kergillian This is a tight film. In fact, except for perhaps the last 20 minutes, the film is near-perfect. Michael Rapaport is absolutely excellent in the lead role, the best role I've seen him in, save Higher Learning. And N'Bush Wright and DeShonn Castle were also excellent in their parts. Ron Johnson was convincing as the aptly named 'Nut' as well. The film was heartfelt, with enough light attitude to balance the darker and more serious side.The few issues I had were: The Kevin Corrigan 'I live in industrial Detroit and look what those evil companies have done to the neighborhood' scenes were completely unnecessary. They had nothing to do with the film except perhaps looking cool. We already know from the setting and characters that it's not exactly pretty and that it's a rundown neighborhood. Also, Zach's father was a little too lucid with Zach, especially concerning his own sexual prowess/conquests. he *is* still the boy's father. Also, the last 20 minutes were overdoing it. Until then time flew by, the film is very close to air-tight for the first hour and twenty, but then it started to drag. The film had pretty much said it all, we didn't need the whole premise explained to us as though we were mindless.This is *not* another Jungle Fever, nor is it another Higher Learning; which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because it's a separate entity, it stands well on its own and deals with a too-familiar situation with originality and strong acting performances. Bad because the script could have been tighter; even though it was very well scripted, there were some scenes that didn't need to be there, others which could have been written better. The cinematography was also lacking; this film could have been shot with much more gusto, even without being fancy.Overall: Considering this is a low-budget film with no-name actors (at the time, at least) and little other than Oliver Stone's name to back it, it does a damn fine job. There are improvements that would have helped, but its strong enough to stand on its own...better than many major films can. It's not as good as the aforementioned Jungle Fever or Higher Learning, but in a way its more raw in a good way. If it wasn't so preachy and if it was about 10-20 minutes shorter (with a better conclusion) it would easily rate and eight or nine. As it stands: 7/10.