She's Gotta Have It is a 1986 American romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Spike Lee in his feature-length directorial debut. It stars Tracy Camilla Johns, Tommy Redmond Hicks, John Canada Terrell, and Lee. The film follows a young woman who is dating three men and explores the feelings this arrangement provokes.

Filmed on a low budget of $175,000, it earned positive reviews and grossed $7.1 million, launching Lee's career. The narrative provided by Nola's narration has been described as the most revolutionary element in the film, a representation of the struggle African American women faced in society at the time.

The New York Times wrote that the film

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

Production

In the summer of 1984, filmmaker Spike Lee originally intended to shoot a film titled Messenger, centered around a bicycle messenger. However, due to difficulties in securing funding, this project fell through. The setback led Lee to craft a script feasible within his financial means. Despite facing challenges, Lee managed to redirect an $18,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, initially intended for Messenger, towards She's Gotta Have It. While a $20,000 grant from the American Film Institute for his previous work was revoked, the film also used a $10,000 grant from the Jerome Foundation, and $500 from the Brooklyn Arts and Cultural Association. Lee adopted a cost-effective approach, working with minimal locations, and no elaborate costumes or sets, to complete the film without the prolonged effort of raising substantial funds for a larger production. To research the lead character, "Nora Darling," Lee collaborated with his Spelman College classmate Tracey Willard, creating a questionnaire circulated among thirty-five women. The questions delved into various topics, including unfulfilled fantasies, perceptions of men, and preferences in sexual acts.

Facing budget constraints, Lee took on the role of "Mars Blackmon" himself, as he could not afford to hire another actor. The production involved Lee's family and friends, with his father, Bill Lee, composing the film's score and making a cameo as "Sonny Darling." Lee's sister, Joie Lee, played "Clorinda Bradford," and his brother, David Lee, handled still photography. Cinematographer Ernest Dickerson had a cameo as "Dog #8." Actor John Canada Terrell, learning about the film through word of mouth, demanded a role and claimed Lee cast him without an audition. She's Gotta Have It was the feature film debut of actress Raye Dowell.

Writer and director Quentin Tarantino, along with collaborators Roger Avary and Craig Hamann, consider the production and low budget nature of the film a major influence in making his unreleased first film My Best Friend's Birthday and later Reservoir Dogs.

Following the film's release, media attention was drawn to Brooklyn, and to its artists and musicians.

Release

Box office

She's Gotta Have It opened in one theater on August 8, 1986, and earned $28,473 on its opening weekend. The film ultimately grossed $7,137,503 in the United States.

Critical response

The film was very well received by critics and audiences. Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reports a 94% score based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The consensus states: "With She's Gotta Have It, Spike Lee delivered his bracing first shot across Hollywood's bow--and set the template for the groundbreaking act to follow." It holds a 79/100 average on Metacritic.

The New York Times Film critic, D.J.R. Bruckner, wrote of the film in 1986: "stripped of some of the distractions of this presentation, their story has a touch of the classic. These people are not victims of blind forces; they make choices, defend them and grow in understanding, not always happily, as a result. Their story would be more enjoyable in a more polished film, but it has a power that is not dissipated by this one's weaknesses."

John Simon of the National Review called She's Gotta Have It a "cutesy, trivial sex carousel".

Home media

She's Gotta Have It was first released on VHS, initially by Key Video and later by PolyGram Video as part of a distribution deal with Chris Blackwell's Island World Group, which retained the rights following the purchase of Island Records by PolyGram (PolyGram would eventually acquire the rest of Island in December 1994).

In the mid-1990s, The Criterion Collection released the film on laserdisc. According to Lee's agent, the film was to be eventually released on DVD. Jonathan Turell of The Criterion Collection ended that rumor, saying "No for She's Gotta Have It. We don't have DVD rights." This laserdisc is the only release of the film that has the unrated director's cut, including sexual content that was cut to obtain an R rating. This release also contains an exclusive commentary by Spike Lee.

The film's first North American DVD release was in January 2008 by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment through United Artists and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Despite its availability on DVD in the United Kingdom, the DVD release for Region 1 took longer than expected.

In 2010, the film was digitized in High Definition (1080i) and broadcast on MGM HD.

Awards and honors

;1986 Cannes Film Festival

  • Award of the Youth, Foreign Film – Spike Lee (won)

;1986 Los Angeles Film Critics Awards

  • New Generation Award – Spike Lee (won)

;1987 Independent Spirit Awards

  • Best First Feature – Spike Lee (won)
  • Best Female Lead – Tracy Camilla Johns (nominated)

In 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

TV series

On September 15, 2016, Netflix announced a deal to produce a series based on the film, with Lee returning to direct the first season and serve as executive producer. Ten 30-minute episodes were ordered. Netflix released the series in November 2017. On July 17, 2019, Netflix canceled the series after two seasons.

Reflection

In 2014, Lee said that his one regret as a filmmaker was the rape scene in She's Gotta Have It:

<blockquote>If I was able to have any do-overs, that would be it. It was just totally ... stupid. I was immature. It made light of rape, and that's the one thing I would take back. I was immature and I hate that I did not view rape as the vile act that it is. I can promise you, there will be nothing like that in She's Gotta Have It, the TV show, that's for sure.</blockquote>

Notes

References

  • Reelblack TV interview with John Canada Terrell