Do the Right Thing

In all likelihood Spike Lee's most important achievement - as director, writer and actor (though to my taste Mo' Better Blues is just as good a picture) and one of the strongest films you'll see about race relations, 'Do The Right Thing' looks dated at times, but it lost none of its impact and relevance. The movie takes place in a particularly hot day in a primarily African-American neighborhood in Brooklyn, and follows the various personalities who live there throughout the day; the center of the story is Sal's Famous Pizzeria - its owners, some of the few white people living in the neighborhood: Sal (Oscar nominated performance for Danny Aiello) and his two sons (John Torturro and Richard Edson), and Mookie (Spike Lee himself), the black delivery boy. What starts out as a light, entertaining movie with some amusing characters and light humor, gradually builds up tension to the point of being unbearable, up to the dramatic and tragic climax. Spike doesn't put as much emphasis on the characters themselves as he does on the relationships and the tension between them; and in this image of a very specific and small frame in time and place, makes a strong and important message about racism and race relations in general. The film is populated with many different characters, all of them very memorable and each one a representative of a certain belief, mode of behavior or state of mind - on both sides of the conflict. From the uninhibited anger of Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) and Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) on one side and Pino (John Torturro) on the other side, to Jade (Joie Lee, Spike's sister in the film and in real life) and Vito (Richard Edson), who are trying to connect and live at peace with the other side, to Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), in his isolated but peaceful state of mind, living in complete peace with the world around him, and Smiley (Roger Smith), living in his own isolated existence. Then there's Mookie, who is stuck in the middle, torn between his commitment and responsibilities to both sides. Finally we have Mister Senor Love Daddy - played gorgeously by the one and only Samuel L. Jackson, in one of his finest performances - half active character and half all-knowing narrator - who represents the voice of reason in the conflict, the reason which is bound, ultimately, to collapse. Each and every character plays an important part in the climatic and dramatic conflict to which the movie builds up, and though it's the radical ones - Buggin Out and Radio Raheem - who trigger the events that cause the tragedy, they are not necessarily the ones who finish it. It is Mookie and Sal, in fact, who ultimately play the main part.

Do The Right Thing is not an easy watch; it's a mesmerizing, tense, difficult film that breaks many taboos and slaughters many holy cows. But in the end of it - hopefully - you'll be wiser than you were in the beginning, and that's what Lee have always tried to achieve in all his films. Watch it to get a real view on racism that doesn't duck the difficult issues and isn't afraid to tackle the real problem, and to see a master director at work. It's one of the best films of its time.

It's sometimes difficult to separate artists' public statements from the work they're commenting on, or to ignore the politically charged aura a film generates. There's always that nagging feeling that a movie's point must be sussed out, that the real intentions of the filmmaker must be understood. But in retrospect--and despite director Spike Lee's rhetoric--Do the Right Thing may not be as profound as previously thought. While it should be applauded for taking on the subject of race without Hollywood's usual heavy-handedness, simply presenting a topic doesn't automatically mean anything is actually being said about that topic.

Whatever problems there are with the content, Do the Right Thing is still great film-making. It's a vibrant, passionate, funny movie, and like a true work of art, it both surprises and provokes. It's technically audacious and features one of the most successful displays of stifling, suffocating heat ever put on film.and it does it without being languid itself. The dialogue is fast paced, the characters energetic, and the camera-work unpredictable, full of clever pans and Twilight Zone angles. And, except for the always excruciating Martin Lawrence, the performances are uniformly good throughout. Lee also manages to out-Altman Altman by presenting a large cast of characters without it ever becoming confusing or disjointed.

Taking place over the course of one scorching day in Bedford-Stuyvesant, most of the action occurs in and around a pizzeria run by Sal (Danny Aiello) and his sons Pino and Vito (John Turturro, Richard Edson). But the entire neighborhood is featured as the film intercuts between various exchanges, many of them tinged with racial overtones: while Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) challenges a white tenement owner when he feels slighted, down the street three men debate the right of a Korean to own a variety store in "their" neighborhood.

There are personal moments as well: Da Mayor (Ossie Davis) continually attempts to soften Mother Sister's (Ruby Dee) opinion of him, while Mookie (Lee) juggles time between his job at Sal's and his increasingly aggravated girlfriend (Rosie Perez). Although Lee doesn't have the time to make all his characters three-dimensional, he avoids sentimentalizing or demonizing any one group; there are both blacks and whites who are sympathetic (Sal, Da Mayor) and troublesome (Pino, Radio Raheem). Only the Korean storeowner played by Steven Parks is a blatant caricature. (Asians seem to get short shrift no matter who is behind the camera.) Presiding over the action is disc jockey Senor Love Daddy (Samuel L. Jackson). Like Wolfman Jack in American Graffiti, he provides ongoing background music, as well as periodic commentary.

Eventually, the heat and personal tensions culminate in an explosion of violence centered on Sal's pizzeria. The violence escalates after one of the characters is killed. It's at this point that the film becomes problematic. The murder is supposed to be a tragedy, meant to provoke outrage in the audience. But the killing of a fictional character isn't enough in itself to warrant a reaction. It's not that audiences are jaded, but drama usually elicits judgement based on the narrative alone. If a character is a jerk, his death won't elicit much of a response. Like Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ, Do the Right Thing relies too heavily on the personal baggage audiences are supposedly bringing to the film. Drawing on contemporary events and feelings may be provocative, but it dates the film and makes for poor drama. The reactions of Mookie and Mother Sister to the murder may have been understandable to a disenfranchised group, but in the context of the plot they appear unmotivated, almost random.

The somewhat ambiguous nature of the movie could easily be trumpeted as a selling point. Lee doesn't want to hold your hand; he wants you to make up your own mind. But there is a fine line between "bravely ambiguous" and "maddeningly directionless." While Oliver Stone continually has been pilloried for his blatantly didactic films, there is something to be said for being recklessly personal and taking a stand. Lee made a movie about racism; but we're so starved for challenging works, for thematically mature movies, we've embraced a film that ultimately says nothing more than "racism is bad" and "no one person or group is to blame."

The simplistic ideals of Do the Right Thing are most evident in four scenes: 1) Love Daddy lists practically every major black musician from the last fifty years; 2) in an overly contrived sequence, Mookie gets Pino to admit that his cultural heroes are all black (Magic Johnson, Eddie Murphy, and Prince); 3) Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and Louis Farrakhan are all mentioned; 4) the words "Tawana Told the Truth" appear spray painted on a wall (a reference to the Tawana Brawley controversy of 1987). No differentiation is made between the listed artists, and no context is given for the black leaders mentioned. These aren't explorations of racially-charged issues, it's just name dropping.

Despite its flaws, Do the Right Thing provokes discussion. It's an impossible film to dismiss. Spike Lee's subsequent career has turned out to be a disappointment, but Do the Right Thing, along with Malcolm X, represent Lee at his creative peak.

Do The Right Thing is perhaps the best case study of racism ever made. Some people claim that the film perpetuates black stereotypes. Some people don't think. The black people in Do The Right Thing, like the white, Hispanic, and Korean people) exhibit all the unfounded fear and rage that stems from racism. The only truly stereotypical black man in the film is portrayed as an idiot. Buggin' Out sets the whole thing in motion because he is outraged that the local Italian-American pizza man Sal doesn't have any pictures of African-Americans on his wall. He spends the rest of the film trying to gain support for a boycott of Sal's. The rest of the predominately black neighborhood rightly views him as an idiot.

Spike Lee himself plays Mookie, the closest thing to a protagonist in the film. Mookie is a lazy delivery boy at Sal's who has a girlfriend and a baby that he doesn't support. Samuel L. Jackson plays the local DJ who is ultimately the voice of reason in the film. There are a slew of backup characters, nearly all of whom play important roles. Radio Raheem, Da Mayor, Sal's sons, Jade, and many others are vital to the film.

If I had to guess why some people don't like this film, I would say it's due to the fact that there are no good guys. There aren't even any bad guys. There is no one to root for because everyone is guilty. Spike Lee's magnum opus examines the deterioration of characters incredibly. You can feel the characters wearing thin as the hot day drags on and tension mounts. The only flaw of the film is that the subplot of Mookie's relationship with Tina flip-flops, but even that is for a purpose. Don't let the handful of vocal naysayers keep you from watching this indie masterpiece.

'Do the Right Thing' is a moving painting of a small community in Brooklyn. Within we have a melting pot of different races, cultures and ideologies. It's the hottest day of the year, and everyone's temperatures are rising.

Spike Lee colours his canvas with a vibrant and eclectic cast of memorable characters; it in a way feels rather Dickensian. The lower classes clash with each other as the system bears down on them.

The movie's major strength is that its empathetic towards nearly everyone. You can understand where all these groups are coming from. The film's idiosyncrasies permit the interludes to be more memorable. A repeated edit here, a montage of characters talking directly to the camera there.

It's all just incredibly confident, a product of Lee's talent and youth.

I was ashamed that I hadn't seen this until now. Honestly, it held up better than I expected. It's one of those great films that people weren't talented enough to copy well enough, as a result it shines on everyone.

I find it a tremendous oversight that this film gets so little recognition. The American film institute couldn't find one place in one hundered American films for this cinematic masterpiece that pulls no punches . It got no academy award and most importantly I could not find one friend who had heard of it. I call this a tremendous oversight because the film is wonderful. I know that Spike Lee is a rather eccentric personality and is not well liked by everyone, but his films are brilliant and this is no exception.

For about the first two thirds of the movie the plot meanders around a section of New York City as the characters awaken and start their days. For this first two thirds we have a comedy that is funny because of the eccentric and wonderfully developed characters. The audience is pulled into the story by the rich dialogue and inventive cinematography. There is just some quality about this film that makes it seem so real. This all sets up for the imminent tragedy to be all the worse as a result of the connection the audience has with the movie.

Then the film explodes. Those who have seen it know what I mean and those who have not should see it. This last third of the film should not be explained, it must be experianced. In fact this whole film should be experianced. I can't say enough.