She's Gotta Have It (1986)

Story of a woman and her three lovers.

Director:

Spike Lee

Writers:

Spike Lee, Zora Neale Hurston (opening quotation)

Stars:

Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

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

Storyline

The story of Nola Darling's simultaneous sexual relationships with three different men is told by her and by her partners and other friends. All three men wanted her to commit solely to them; Nola resists being "owned" by a single partner.

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Plot Keywords:

begins with a quotation | black and white photograph | breaking the fourth wall | mars blackmon character | scented candle | 

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Taglines:

A Seriously Sexy Comedy

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Genres:

Comedy | Romance

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

During a 2017 interview on NPR's "Fresh Air", Spike Lee said the famous "Please baby please baby please" line was not in the script. Lee forgot the lines after "Please baby" and kept repeating it. Since it played so well, he kept it in the movie.

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Quotes

Greer Childs: If you weren't fine, I wouldn't even bother with you.

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Crazy Credits

Crew occupation: "piano tuner", for the lead-man, as no one else was credited for moving the props around.

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Alternate Versions

The Director's Cut of the film on the Criterion Collection Laser Disc, features 4 minutes of additional footage.

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Connections

Referenced in Bob's Burgers: Legends of the Mall (2019)

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Soundtracks

Comin' from Another Place
Words and Music by Strafe
Courtesy of S.T.D Music
Roto toms and group voices by Raydar
Bongos by Choqui Cantlo
Synthesizer by Bob Ross
Lead vocals, guitar, synthesizer and drum programming by Strafe

User Reviews

Spike Lee pipe dream

The "she" that the movie title refers to, played by Traci Camilla Johns, is a beautiful, intelligent young black woman that also happens to be a nymphomaniac. While other people's beds are just places to sleep in, the lead character's bed is a shrine to be worshipped as evidenced by her propensity to adorn it with ceremonial candles. Her main sexual partners are a nerd (Spike), a wanna-be playboy, and a earnest young man who is actually interested in a relationship.

I appreciate that Spike helped blaze for other young black filmmakers with his very personal approach to film-making but I never could understand why luminaries like Terri McMillan were so impressed with this film. It's a self-indulgent Spike Lee pipe dream, at best, with characters that I found it hard to care about. Why would a woman as fine as Traci Camilla Johns include a character as annoying as Spike's character among her lovers? After two hours, I thought I would at least have a better understanding of why "she has to have it", but alas that wasn't the case.

The real value in watching this movie to me is observing how much the talented Lee has progressed since then. It's not bad movie, just uneven. It's unfortunate Spike didn't really put the alluring Ms. Johns to much use in future films. 7 out of 10.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

She's Gotta Have It

Filming Locations:

Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$175,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$28,473, 10 August 1986

Gross USA:

$7,137,502

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,137,502

Company Credits

Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, The New York State Council of the Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min 88 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White Color (one sequence)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1