Ruby's Bucket of Blood

Abandoned by her husband (Brian Stokes Mitchell) and exhausted by her teenage daughter (Jurnee Smollett), Ruby Delacroix (Angela Bassett), owner of the popular black juke joint Bucket of Blood on the Louisiana bayou, flirts with a white singer (Kevin Anderson) hired for a gig, fully aware of the consequences in the segregated South circa 1961. Bassett brings real screen presence to the part of Ruby, a powerful local businesswoman who is nevertheless constrained by her race and gender; unfortunately, her relationship with the bland Anderson is less interesting than most of the subplots in Peter Werner's Showtime production of Julie Hébert's play of the same name, including Glenn Plummer's poignant portrayal of a gay musician who fears the openness of a move to the big city. A far better movie could have focused on the tumultuous relationships between Mitchell and Bassett and Plummer and his boyfriend, rather than the perfunctory interracial love story. Optional. (D. Fienberg)