She's Gotta Have It

MOVIE #1,679 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 05.29.24 a SPIKE LEE Director Focus Joint This ‘type’ of movie (overly cheeky, winking relationship romcom/dramedy) is one of my least favorite. So I was never going to get past that bias. I also don't love when the mockumentary elements are used all willy-nilly like. The latter is an insane complaint, but I'm a complicated person. Go whole-hog into the fake doc or stay out the kitchen! That's what I say. I realize this is the film that broke Spike Lee’s career open, but I got next to nothing out of it. Perhaps it’s simply nothing more than the passing of time but I don’t think this holds up here in 2024. For example, I guess it’s good there are gay characters in this but they’re treated about how you might expect in 1986…

This also marks the debut of Spike the Actor, and, well, I’ll just say that his character Mars Blackmon works better in the Nike commercials.This dude is a freak and the comic relief he supplies seems like it’s only funny to Lee and Lee only?

Many of Spike’s trademarks are on display, most prominently the aforementioned mockumentary-adjacent technique of having actors speak directly into the camera. TITLE DROP…


I’m somewhat at odds with this approach, though I’m sure it works better when utilized with better actors and subject matter.

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CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ MOVIE #1,678 - (YOU ARE HERE) - MOVIE #1,680 ⫸

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She's Gotta Have It is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy drama film written, produced, edited and directed by Spike Lee. Filmed on a small budget and Lee's first feature-length film to be released, it earned positive reviews and launched Lee's career. It was released on May 3, 1986.