At last the wait is over. And wow, was it ever worth it.

After months of delay, Spike Lee's latest movie Jungle Fever, opened at Cinema 5 to an interested and anxious audience.

The film opens with a dedication to Yusef Hawkins, a black teen murdered in Bensonhurst, N.Y.

Wesley Snipes plays Flipper Purify, a young, happily married African-American architect. Out of curiosity, or what Flip's friend Cyrus (Spike Lee) calls "the fever," he has an affair with his Italian-American secretary, Angie Tucci (Annabella Sciorra).

As a result, both become outcasts to their families and friends. Angie's father beats her up and kicks her out of his "home," if that's what you want to call it. Flip's wife throws him out of the house while throwing all of his belongings onto the sidewalks of Harlem. His father also condemns the relationship.

A subplot involves Flip's brother Gator (Samuel Jackson), who is a crackhead. It is through Gator that we see the awful truth of crack houses and drug addiction in the inner cities of the United States.

People of all ages and races crowd around and smoke crack. Through the darkness, the audience sees only the flicker of the lighters as crack pipes are ignited.

Beneath the plot is a powerful message underlying the story which makes the viewer think about his or her own values and how they affect everyday life. It questions tradition, morality and stereotypes and the role that each plays in today's society.

The film neither condones or condemns interracial relationships. Instead, Lee examines why they happen and what happens when two very different people with very different backgrounds come together.

It is sad to admit, but the film is extremely realistic. For example, in one scene, Flip and Angie are joking around hitting each other. Someone calls the police because they think that Flip is trying to rape her. Not only are the couple trying to deal with their relationship, but they must also combat society's unwillingness to change.

Snipes and Sciorra are superb. They both add depth to their characters and intensity to some pretty sticky scenes. Although Lee's role is relatively small, he does it well and adds some lightness and a little humor to the film.

As a bonus, Stevie Wonder performs all of the music to the film and I liked it so much that I went and bought the soundtrack.

Jungle Fever is deep and thought-provoking and it should not be ignored. Perhaps if everyone were to see this movie, things would be different on this campus.

For tickets to see tomorrow's free showing of Jungle Fever, go to the Boucke Information Desk after noon today.