‘Poetic Justice’ Quietly Reaches Universal City : Movies: Audience members wonder what the hubbub is all about after a theater chain delayed the film’s opening.

Dee and Fulton Irving didn’t know what to expect as they sat wide-eyed Wednesday afternoon in the darkened theater at the Universal City Cinemas.

Fresh from a vacation in the Caribbean, they had come to catch the new John Singleton film, “Poetic Justice,” starring Janet Jackson.

But as friends had told them, justice was the last thing this new flick was getting from one prominent theater chain.

See, the Irvings were off the Mainland, out of Los Angeles, when the news hit this weekend that Cineplex Odeon Corp., the owners of the theaters, had refused to open the newest movie by African-American director John Singleton last Friday, when it premiered nationwide.

Instead, they opened it Wednesday at Universal City, citing the violence that surrounded the opening of “ ‘Boyz ‘N the Hood,” Singleton’s first feature-length film.

The delay inspired accusations of racist behavior by a local chapter of the National Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People. And the City Council has asked the district attorney’s office to investigate whether the theater’s decision to delay the film’s Universal City opening was a violation of state civil rights law.

So, on a sunny Southern California afternoon, Dee and Fulton Irving came to see what all the fuss was about.

Fuss, you say?

“To me, it looked like a little ole lightweight love story,” Fulton said as he walked out of the theater.

Added Dee: “I thought it was kind of cute. I don’t know what the big deal was all about. There was no graphic violence, no black and white tension. It was just a story about love.”

Indeed, the 40 moviegoers who attended Wednesday’s 1:30 p.m. showing of the film left the theater shaking their heads.

“I’m angry,” said Valerie Dillard, standing in front of a life-sized cutout of Dan Aykroyd advertising the new film “Coneheads.”

“I mean, Janet Jackson is a multimillionaire. She can buy a home in Beverly Hills, but she can’t have her movies shown in Studio City?

“Don’t tell me that. It seems to me that there’s a little bit of racism going on when black producers and actresses have trouble getting their work shown to the outside world.”

Two years ago, the first weekend of “ ‘Boyz ‘N the Hood” was marred by shootings at a few theaters across the nation, including the 18-theater complex at Universal City--prompting concern among theater owners over opening weekends for upcoming films depicting urban-based minorities or gangs.

In a statement, Allen Karp, president of the Toronto-based theater chain, said the decision was based on the fact that “our film programmers in L. A. are ensuring that the theater is programmed with an upscale demographic.”

But movie-watchers on Wednesday questioned that wisdom.

“What they’re telling me is that black American moviegoers and black American movie-makers and actresses are not welcome in lily-white corporate Universal City unless we’re parking cars,” said one viewer. “Is that what they’re telling me?”

Sandra Evers Manly, president of the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the NAACP, said Wednesday that it was not so much the delay of the movie that angered many blacks, but the statement issued by Karp, Odeon’s president.

“The issue is the statement that was made about demographics,” she said. “We need further dialogue so those statements aren’t made again.”

Evers Manly said members of her organization were to meet next week with officials from the theater chain.

“What if John Singleton makes another film that is perceived to include violence? We’ve got to address it beforehand, before the movie’s release and get out of the reactionary mode of closing it out of theaters.”

On Wednesday, viewers laughed out loud as they watched several violence-packed previews for films--including works by Stephen King and John Carpenter and movies starring Bruce Willis. They had names like “Body Bags” and “Needful Things.”

“You won’t see those movies banned by the theater,” whispered 13-year-old Luke Taylor. “Those movies are made by white people.”

The nearly two-hour-long “Poetic Justice” is more a road movie than a film about the streets, a tale of reluctant love between a hairdresser and a mailman. It is a film that shows more windmills than Watts, more scenes of the Pacific Coast and the state’s Central Valley than South-Central Los Angeles.

There were images of hip, corn-row hairstyles, nose earrings and new cuisine such as Tabasco sauce on popcorn. There was even some biting social commentary that malt liquor isn’t sold outside the ghetto.

But there was precious little of the graphic violence that pervaded “ ‘Boyz ‘N the Hood.”

The theater’s decision had its defenders.

“It’s not racism, it’s good business,” said Vincent Chapman. “Look at what happened to Westwood after the last Singleton film. It got tore up but good. This is Los Angeles, man. They want to see if there’s going to be riots. Then, when the coast is clear, they put it in their theaters.”

Dee Irving might just be back in-country. But she is convinced she knows a corporate snow-job when she sees one.

“Hey, the reason they had violence surrounding ‘Boyz ‘N the Hood’ is because they over-sold seats for the movie,” she said. “It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know how many seats you have.

“Get with the program. This is a love story. Not a movie about World War III. There’s nothing in this movie that’s going to make me want to go out and tear down a building or kill someone.

“And, if you think that, then, well, there’s something wrong with you.”