She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Director:

Spike Lee

Writer:

Spike Lee (writer)

Release Date:

8 August 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

A Seriously Sexy Comedy

Plot:

Story of a woman and her three lovers.

Plot Keywords:

Infidelity | New York City | Human Relationship | Sex | Lesbian

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Tracy Camilla Johns	...	Nola Darling
Tommy Redmond Hicks	...	Jamie Overstreet
John Canada Terrell	...	Greer Childs
Spike Lee	...	Mars Blackmon
Raye Dowell	...	Opal Gilstrap
Joie Lee	...	Clorinda Bradford
S. Epatha Merkerson	...	Doctor Jamison (as Epatha Merkinson)
Bill Lee	...	Sonny Darling
Cheryl Burr	...	Ava
Aaron Dugger	...	Noble
Stephanie Covington	...	Keva
Renata Cobbs	...	Shawn
Cheryl Singleton	...	Toby
Monty Ross	...	Dog 1
Tiziano Cortini	...	Dog 2 (as Lewis Jordan)

Runtime:

84 min | USA:88 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:16 | USA:R | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Canada:R

Filming Locations:

Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Trivia:

Director Spike Lee wanted to cast Eriq La Salle in the role of Greer Childs, but La Salle thought the role was too shallow, and had joined the Screen Actors Guild, making him ineligible for the part.

Quotes:

Dog 7: Baby, you're so fine, I'd drink a tub of your bath water.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Living Single: They've Gotta Have It (#2.3)" (1994)

Pretty Good Early Effort

When I first heard about this film, I very much thought that it was going to be nothing more than a black t&a flick. However, I this film turned out to be an interesting character study, which looks not only at black sexuality, but at the way people look at different stereotypes of men and women. You had sensitive Jamie, arrogant Greer and space cadet Mars all chasing after one of the first truly sexually liberated women to ever be portrayed on the silver screen in Nola. This film also shows how when a man has a lot of sexual partners, they are pretty much looked at a stud, but if a woman has a lot of partners she is looked at as a nymphomaniac. This film pretty much takes those stereotypes and turns them around. The only negative criticisms I have is the fact that as the film goes on it tries to become a serious drama, especially in the scene when Jamie rapes Nola. Also, the film fails to address the idea of safe sex, especially since this film was released just as the AIDS crisis was really beginning to infect the black community. Other than those criticisms this was a pretty decent early effort from Spike Lee.