She's Gotta Have It (1986)

I've never really appreciated Spike Lee movies the way i've hoped it would in the same way, you feel shitty that you don't phone your Gran enough. I like Do The Right Thing but I can't think of any others; I remember the ones that felt like chores like The 25th Your or Bamboozled and stuff like Jungle Fever, Clockers and Inside Man that I didn't feel strongly about either way. But I wanted to see She's Gotta Have It costs maybe it's the amazing debut that people remember and forget all the other suitable come greenlight season.
And it turns out I was probably right. I think if said She's Gotta Have It is his best film, you might try to remind me of Do The Right Thing but although that film is bigger in its scope and message, i don't think it is as consistently as this film.
I really thought this was good.  It's just the typical strong debut that builds careers for auteurs; it's well written, it looks good, it's provocative and original.
It suffers from non actors or new actors in main roles but most debuts do and that's the only thing it suffers from.
Basically put, this a film about a girl who's shitty at commitment so much so she has 3 dudes on the go at once. But she's so amazing that the guys know about each other and she makes no bones (pun intended) about it and they just take it and stick around her. Not like they're happy about the situation, they all want to be her only guy but she's perfectly happy with 3guys. If he wanted to be technically correct he should have called it, She's Gotta Have Them.  Like I say, Spike's hilarious here and I guess the everyman-like suitor, Jamie is a great straight man,  great at reacting to Spike's character, Mars like '.. this guy!? '. The actor also has this great Paul Robeson look.
If you're looking for more bullshit pretencious opinion, I'd say Lee has made like an Afro-centric Godard film and I'm not just saying that because it's black and white but it's intimate and dialogue heavy like A Bout de Souffe (Breathless, to you noob).
It's fast but thoughtful, as sexy as it is funny- in terms of amazing cinematic debuts, it's one of the best. But for some reason, it has this great asset that the director Spike Lee hasn't really employed since... the actor Spike Lee.  But more than that Spike being funny and charming. It like people kept saying to him 'Spike, you were great in She's Gotta Have It' and he thought 'wow people like my acting too, i'll do some more in my other films' but dude,  you didn't stick with the funny. This is the Spike Lee show. Not many make a film and are the best actor in them.  Okay, Woody Allen and Orson Wells but still, it's a pretty private club...

I watched She's Gotta Have It (1986) on DVD, via LoveFilm.
My 2011 in Movies will return with Hall Pass (2011)...