She's Gotta Have It's Recent Activity

list She's Gotta Have It's Recent Activity - Spout http://www.spout.com/ Recent community activity around She's Gotta Have It on Spout Copyright 2005-9 Spout, LLC Spout RSS http://www.spout.com/images/SpoutLogoRSS.jpg She's Gotta Have It's Recent Activity - Spout http://www.spout.com/ 136 30 Film:She's Gotta Have It http://www.spout.com/films/She_s_Gotta_Have_It/30995/default.aspx

Title: She's Gotta Have It
Year: 1986
Director: Spike Lee
Plot: Spike Lee's breakthrough independent feature, shot in fifteen days on a budget of $175,000, ushered in (along with Jim Jarmusch's Stranger Than Paradise) the American independent film movement of the 1980s. It was also a groundbreaking film for African-American filmmakers and a welcome change in the representation of blacks in American cinema, depicting men and women of color not as pimps and whores, but as intelligent, upscale urbanites. Lee's slight tale, which carries much psychological and historical baggage, concerns Nola Darling (Tracy Camila Johns), a young, self-assured Brooklyn woman who juggles three boyfriends -- the polite and well-meaning Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks), the self-obsessed male model Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell), and the comical bicycle messenger Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee). Nola doesn't want to commit to any of her boyfriends, cherishing her personal freedom. But as their relationships with Nola grow, each man wants her for himself. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Number of Lists: 2
Number of blog posts: 2
SpoutRating: 3
]]>Tue, 20 May 2008 23:21:04 GMTShe's Gotta Have It1986Spike Lee<a href="/players/P____99175/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Spike Lee</a>'s breakthrough independent feature, shot in fifteen days on a budget of $175,000, ushered in (along with <a href="/players/P____95892/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Jim Jarmusch</a>'s <a href=/films/33181/default.aspx style='text-decoration:underline'>Stranger Than Paradise</a>) the American independent film movement of the 1980s. It was also a groundbreaking film for African-American filmmakers and a welcome change in the representation of blacks in American cinema, depicting men and women of color not as pimps and whores, but as intelligent, upscale urbanites. Lee's slight tale, which carries much psychological and historical baggage, concerns Nola Darling (Tracy Camila Johns), a young, self-assured Brooklyn woman who juggles three boyfriends -- the polite and well-meaning Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks), the self-obsessed male model Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell), and the comical bicycle messenger Mars Blackmon (<a href="/players/P____99175/default.aspx" style='text-decoration:underline'>Spike Lee</a>). Nola doesn't want to commit to any of her boyfriends, cherishing her personal freedom. But as their relationships with Nola grow, each man wants her for himself. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide223http://www.spout.com/ProductImages/u50547hejo5.jpghttp://www.spout.com/films/She_s_Gotta_Have_It/30995/default.aspxFilm Spout Post: Lucky '13' http://www.spout.com/blogs/usesoap/archive/2008/5/20/29602.aspx

Post By: usesoap
Post To: usesoap Blog
Post Date: 5/20/2008 7:21:04 PM
Body: While I always understood the cult-like devotion to Eli Roth’s ‘Hostel,’ and I appreciated the director’s acute knowledge of all things horror and the sickeningly real premise, I never fully subscribed to the tawdriness of it all. It was a film in which even the dirt and grime had a certain polish to it. And while the film had its merits, it took a film like “13 Tzameti” to make me appreciate just what it was missing. This is not to say the two films are remotely similar thematically (though there are classism issues that figure very prominently into both). But there are some films that seem to scream out for a reduced budget to give it added authenticity. Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” Kevin Smith’s “Clerks,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Following” are examples of how diminished budget actually enhance the final product. Now, “13 Tzameti” can easily be added to that list. Taking a cue from the film noir genre, Gela Babluani’s vision of dystrophic economic oppression is one that echoes Daniel Minahan’s “Series 7: The Contenders” with a little bit of “Bloodsport” thrown in for an altogether exhilarating experience. Sebastien (played by Georges Babluani, the director’s brother) is a young immigrant from Georgia who is eking out a living as a handyman in France. While working on the staccato roof on one particular client, he overhears a conversation between its residents, Gordon (played by Philippe Passon) and his wife (played by Olga Legrand) about a “get rich quick” scheme to help boost them out of their current economic woes. When Gordon ODs, Sebastein is left without work, but he does not leave empty handed. He swipes the envelope of which Gordon spoke, the one that was the answer to their misery. And it is the start of Sebastein’s. The film begins to spiral beneath the bucolic city streets of France, into a seamy world where the bourgeois bet on the lives of the economic have-nots. And this is where the grain and grit of the film’s modest budget comes into full effect. The low-lit, cramped, overcrowded rooms in which these “tournaments” take place reek of despair and tension. It keeps everything grounded even when the film veers off into more surreal Kafka-esque territory. And as atmospheric as the film is, it would be an exercise in violence for the sake of violence if we did not have a strong enough protagonist in which to invest. With Georges’ Sebastein, we can feel the rising tide of dread that quickly envelopes him. And while the film’s ending may not reach the most satisfying of conclusions, the build-up created by Gela demonstrates that his future is much brighter than any of the characters of which his film focuses. · A sad end-note is that an Americanzed version of the film is currently in pre-production, which will undoubtedly carry a budget that may effectively erase the grime that besmudges “13 Tzameti” with such power.
]]>Tue, 20 May 2008 23:21:04 GMTusesoapusesoap Blog5/20/2008 7:21:04 PMWhile I always understood the cult-like devotion to Eli Roth’s ‘Hostel,’ and I appreciated the director’s acute knowledge of all things horror and the sickeningly real premise, I never fully subscribed to the tawdriness of it all. It was a film in which even the dirt and grime had a certain polish to it. And while the film had its merits, it took a film like “13 Tzameti” to make me appreciate just what it was missing. This is not to say the two films are remotely similar thematically (though there are classism issues that figure very prominently into both). But there are some films that seem to scream out for a reduced budget to give it added authenticity. Spike Lee’s “She’s Gotta Have It,” Kevin Smith’s “Clerks,” and Christopher Nolan’s “Following” are examples of how diminished budget actually enhance the final product. Now, “13 Tzameti” can easily be added to that list. Taking a cue from the film noir genre, Gela Babluani’s vision of dystrophic economic oppression is one that echoes Daniel Minahan’s “Series 7: The Contenders” with a little bit of “Bloodsport” thrown in for an altogether exhilarating experience. Sebastien (played by Georges Babluani, the director’s brother) is a young immigrant from Georgia who is eking out a living as a handyman in France. While working on the staccato roof on one particular client, he overhears a conversation between its residents, Gordon (played by Philippe Passon) and his wife (played by Olga Legrand) about a “get rich quick” scheme to help boost them out of their current economic woes. When Gordon ODs, Sebastein is left without work, but he does not leave empty handed. He swipes the envelope of which Gordon spoke, the one that was the answer to their misery. And it is the start of Sebastein’s. The film begins to spiral beneath the bucolic city streets of France, into a seamy world where the bourgeois bet on the lives of the economic have-nots. And this is where the grain and grit of the film’s modest budget comes into full effect. The low-lit, cramped, overcrowded rooms in which these “tournaments” take place reek of despair and tension. It keeps everything grounded even when the film veers off into more surreal Kafka-esque territory. And as atmospheric as the film is, it would be an exercise in violence for the sake of violence if we did not have a strong enough protagonist in which to invest. With Georges’ Sebastein, we can feel the rising tide of dread that quickly envelopes him. And while the film’s ending may not reach the most satisfying of conclusions, the build-up created by Gela demonstrates that his future is much brighter than any of the characters of which his film focuses. · A sad end-note is that an Americanzed version of the film is currently in pre-production, which will undoubtedly carry a budget that may effectively erase the grime that besmudges “13 Tzameti” with such power. Spout Post: Through a Glass Semi-Darkly: She Hate Me http://www.spout.com/blogs/jlgdrd/archive/2007/7/2/12855.aspx

Post By: jlgdrd
Post To: Wicked Fun
Post Date: 7/2/2007 3:32:00 PM
Body: Sighhhhhh. What to make of Spike Lee's film, She Hate Me ? I confess I rolled my eyes before I even left for the theatre because when a straight man purports to teach me (or anyone else) something about the lives and attitudes of lesbians, I have to wonder what he knows, or thinks he knows. Lee approached Tristan Taormino, a lesbian author and sex columnist for the Village Voice, to be a "technical consultant." Ms. Taormino tutored him in an accelerated "Lesbian Boot Camp" where Lee was required to read books, visit bars and participate in panel discussions. By the time you finish watching the film, though, you may wonder if Ms. Taormino was used as an unwitting shill. There are many things I admire about Lee. You only have to hear the lush musical cues that hark back to pre-60s to understand that the man is all heart, and though you could take exception to many of the ideas bouncing and careening off the screen in such bombastic films as: She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Bamboozled and School Daze, the effect is intriguing, disturbing, intense and cogent. Mr. Lee usually leads with his emotions. His visual style is immediate and erratic, yet self-assured. He's not afraid to luxuriate in the filmmaking process, but neither is he averse to tying us to a runaway train. Sadly very little of his usual vigor and iconoclastic punch are to be found in She Hate Me. His usual, drumming, colloquial patter feels a bit forced and gratuitous. His caricatures of white people, Italians, and yes, lesbians lack the core truths that justify his previous films. I welcome the work of any artist that enables me to see Caucasians through the eyes of an African American, and ordinarily, Lee does this very well, but the numerous villains in She Hate Me are just too much like puppets. Or targets. As much as anything, She Hate Me is about corruption, and the power of money to corrupt. It raises a cluster of other issues: racism, ethics, moral responsibility, scapegoating, eugenics, hypocrisy, but seems to pivot on how the desire for profit corrupts white-dominated, corporate America and the desperation for money corrupts our hero, John Armstrong. John is sacked after reporting the unethical tactics of the firm where he works, and forced to find other methods of gainful employment when his assets are frozen. His ex-fiancée', Fatima, comes to call, and offers him $5000 a pop (hehehe) if he will agree to impregnate her and her female partner, Alex. She quickly realizes that John's ability to inseminate makes him a "cash bull" and offers to broker his services to lesbian couples who wish to start a family and crave his genetic pedigree. In retrospect, John says he's ashamed he's earned money this way, but never explains exactly why. It's suggested he resorted to prostitution, but surely the fact that he provided a valuable service, without the emotional perils of artificial insemination and adoption, overshadows this. Lee treats this endeavor as satire, with lukewarm results. Some of it is relatively amusing and not all of it is offensive, but it's surprising to see how much of it just runs down like a broken clock. It's funny to see John wash down a Viagra with a can of Red Bull, or his animated sperm racing to penetrate an eager ovum, but it feels so slight. So pitiful. Lee gets a lot of mileage out of the diesel dykes and how the women revel in their opportunity to diminish and degrade John. But while there may be some accuracy in his depiction of the lesbian community, a lot of his material is unconscionable. He takes stabs and swipes at the reasons why women sexually attach to other women, and sincere as he may be, a lot of She Hate Me is blighted by pure ignorance. The women in Lee's film are decidedly non-nurturing and the lesbian women kind of strange. Even if we account for natural human curiosity, they seem awfully impressed by John's penis, and more than a little receptive to him in bed. John confronts Fatima about her sexual ambivalence in a key sequence. We backtrack to a devastating scene where John discovers Fatima in bed with another woman not long before their wedding day. I do not want to downplay John's legitimate sense of betrayal, but frankly I resent Lee's disingenuous implication that Fatima (while not completely honest) was playing fast and loose with her fiancée's feelings. Can he really be this stupid? People of both sexes often conduct same-gender affairs for years, only to walk away in favor of heterosexual romance. And because so many of us are raised to assume we're straight, sometimes sexual orientation doesn't become clear until after we're married. It happens all the time. Almost 20 years after breakthrough films like Lianna and Desert Hearts , Spike Lee is still clinging to the sweet, ridiculous myth that the right man (i.e. caring, tender, sensitive) can "cure" lesbianism. Maybe the right guy could cure his heterosexuality.
]]>Mon, 02 Jul 2007 19:32:00 GMTjlgdrdWicked Fun7/2/2007 3:32:00 PM Sighhhhhh. What to make of Spike Lee's film, She Hate Me ? I confess I rolled my eyes before I even left for the theatre because when a straight man purports to teach me (or anyone else) something about the lives and attitudes of lesbians, I have to wonder what he knows, or thinks he knows. Lee approached Tristan Taormino, a lesbian author and sex columnist for the Village Voice, to be a "technical consultant." Ms. Taormino tutored him in an accelerated "Lesbian Boot Camp" where Lee was required to read books, visit bars and participate in panel discussions. By the time you finish watching the film, though, you may wonder if Ms. Taormino was used as an unwitting shill. There are many things I admire about Lee. You only have to hear the lush musical cues that hark back to pre-60s to understand that the man is all heart, and though you could take exception to many of the ideas bouncing and careening off the screen in such bombastic films as: She's Gotta Have It, Do the Right Thing, Bamboozled and School Daze, the effect is intriguing, disturbing, intense and cogent. Mr. Lee usually leads with his emotions. His visual style is immediate and erratic, yet self-assured. He's not afraid to luxuriate in the filmmaking process, but neither is he averse to tying us to a runaway train. Sadly very little of his usual vigor and iconoclastic punch are to be found in She Hate Me. His usual, drumming, colloquial patter feels a bit forced and gratuitous. His caricatures of white people, Italians, and yes, lesbians lack the core truths that justify his previous films. I welcome the work of any artist that enables me to see Caucasians through the eyes of an African American, and ordinarily, Lee does this very well, but the numerous villains in She Hate Me are just too much like puppets. Or targets. As much as anything, She Hate Me is about corruption, and the power of money to corrupt. It raises a cluster of other issues: racism, ethics, moral responsibility, scapegoating, eugenics, hypocrisy, but seems to pivot on how the desire for profit corrupts white-dominated, corporate America and the desperation for money corrupts our hero, John Armstrong. John is sacked after reporting the unethical tactics of the firm where he works, and forced to find other methods of gainful employment when his assets are frozen. His ex-fiancée', Fatima, comes to call, and offers him $5000 a pop (hehehe) if he will agree to impregnate her and her female partner, Alex. She quickly realizes that John's ability to inseminate makes him a "cash bull" and offers to broker his services to lesbian couples who wish to start a family and crave his genetic pedigree. In retrospect, John says he's ashamed he's earned money this way, but never explains exactly why. It's suggested he resorted to prostitution, but surely the fact that he provided a valuable service, without the emotional perils of artificial insemination and adoption, overshadows this. Lee treats this endeavor as satire, with lukewarm results. Some of it is relatively amusing and not all of it is offensive, but it's surprising to see how much of it just runs down like a broken clock. It's funny to see John wash down a Viagra with a can of Red Bull, or his animated sperm racing to penetrate an eager ovum, but it feels so slight. So pitiful. Lee gets a lot of mileage out of the diesel dykes and how the women revel in their opportunity to diminish and degrade John. But while there may be some accuracy in his depiction of the lesbian community, a lot of his material is unconscionable. He takes stabs and swipes at the reasons why women sexually attach to other women, and sincere as he may be, a lot of She Hate Me is blighted by pure ignorance. The women in Lee's film are decidedly non-nurturing and the lesbian women kind of strange. Even if we account for natural human curiosity, they seem awfully impressed by John's penis, and more than a little receptive to him in bed. John confronts Fatima about her sexual ambivalence in a key sequence. We backtrack to a devastating scene where John discovers Fatima in bed with another woman not long before their wedding day. I do not want to downplay John's legitimate sense of betrayal, but frankly I resent Lee's disingenuous implication that Fatima (while not completely honest) was playing fast and loose with her fiancée's feelings. Can he really be this stupid? People of both sexes often conduct same-gender affairs for years, only to walk away in favor of heterosexual romance. And because so many of us are raised to assume we're straight, sometimes sexual orientation doesn't become clear until after we're married. It happens all the time. Almost 20 years after breakthrough films like Lianna and Desert Hearts , Spike Lee is still clinging to the sweet, ridiculous myth that the right man (i.e. caring, tender, sensitive) can "cure" lesbianism. Maybe the right guy could cure his heterosexuality. Spout Tag:woman http://www.spout.com/members/0/tags/woman/MemberTagFilms.aspxwoman
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