I watched this movie last night...and I have to admit, I was locked. It had some hilarious moments, but let's be honest here...the ending? I DON'T THINK SO. The ending made the movie completely unrelatable. How many lesbians would actually consider that arrangement? I mean, seriously.
"Top model diva, but my name is not Eva!"
I found this movie hilarious, too... for all the wrong reasons. I just finished it about fifteen minutes ago... and the critics were right. Being unrealistic is the least of SHE HATE ME's problems. This film is heavy handed, sophomoric, and downright stupid throughout. Spike Lee should hang his head in shame.
shareOnce again Spike Lee just loves trashing Italian Americans. You know for a guy who complains about Black stereotypes and white devils in Hollywood, he sure gets his rocks off making Italian Americans into two dimensional morons. Is this guy wearing blinders. Wake up man!!
If you want to be taken serious, get serious about ALL the characters in the movie. I agree with the way he was very sensitive to the portrayal of lesbians and minoroties, but man, get a grip. And all these actors like John Turturro who go along and make movies with this guy.
Gee maybe we'll get lucky and he'll make sequel to that SON OF SAM movie he made. This time we find out that the MAFIA and FRANK SINATRA did it, not David Berkowitz.
I watched it last night and I'd have to agree with you guys, he ties the mob into this movie, and probably because he was making a parallel between how corporate thieves get away with illegal practices and have been for years, but the mob gets "hung out to dry" for some of those same practices. Also, I wonder if he was making a statement about young men fathering children that they realistically can not care for, how many single women raising children these days? Who knows with Lee? The movie had the potential to be a lot of things to a lot of people but it was too unfocused and ended up becoming nothing to noone. He touched on so many social issues and showed how they affected this one person, but not in a way that was relatable or even realistic.
shareTo me, the most unrealistic part of the movie is when he finds out his accounts are frozen. Here's a guy who has climbed the ladder of the corporate world, who has become an executive in his field, this field speaking "English". Then when he finds his assets have been frozen, explodes into a stereotypical ebonics spouting thug: "Whehs ma money mutha *beep* I work'd hard fa dat, Mutha *beep* Whehs ma mutha *beep* money!?"
I mean, come on. Just to make it to this position requires a total departure from "black culture slang". He would have to have been a totally different person to raise to this echelon of big business. I know Spike lee only meant to represent such mythical imaginations of smart, powerful executives who are also "keepin' it real", but 'tis only a futile pipe dream. For at a company like his, conservative white men run the show, and don't promote the "jive talkin'" black man, but the Bryant Gumbelesque who can speak correctly, civilmindedly, and represent intelligence, not "culture".
Actually skervich, I have to disagree with you.
I just watched "She Hate Me" for the first time and I
agree.. it was pretty horrible... but riveting nonetheless.
(When I saw it was directed by Spike Lee I recoiled in horror!)
That said, THE most realistic thing about it was
the reaction in the bank!
As a black man who works in corporate America myself, I
can attest to the fact that we DO INDEED live a duality
of life.
There are ways that we speak and behave around
co-workers, and ways we behave and speak around each other.
This due to the omnipresent undercurrent of
frustration in facing subtle (and not so subtle) racism each day.
We adapt to survive, and turn it on and off like a light switch.
SO, if someone's bank account WAS mythically "locked up"
I COULD INDEED see that causing an emotional explosion.
Often the ONLY reason for even DEALING with the
aforementioned frustrations is FOR the money.
If that were taken away, I could definitely see someone
"forgetting" their surroundings and reacting emotionally
rather than intellectually... as was portrayed in the film.
That was one of the FEW realistic things in the flick.
I DO find it funny that you probably think calling someone
"Bryant Gumblesque" is a compliment, though.
In the black community, many would consider that NOT
flattering... and not just the "jive talkers!"
I found the movie to be well thought out. No one can give the total dimensions of Italians or anyone else. If so, name one, just one movie that gives the totallity of a people. People tell stories based on their own experiences, slanted or otherwise, go fro their. Black people, who have been, continue to be the most marginalize sterial typed, slould be the last ones expected to capture the totallity of Italians.
Sure the movie preached someties but how many times did it lie. I guess the security guard at the Watergate Hotel didn't get the criminal treatment & early death because he did his job. I guess Nixon & his boys didn't get off easy.
And to the original contention, I am & have many friends who have operated in the world both worlds & totally agree with the brother cool d. You never lose your Blackness (or street) no matter how much you circulate it the corporate world. Let them take my money & see.
Peace
Yes. but even if you dont lose your "blackness" (what the hell is that anyways, you guys are your stereotypes!), i would imagine most people in the buisness community wouldnt have a public outburst like that. Inside, of course, they would be furious, but they would just fight the system instead of throwing a fit at the bank.
sharethe_brother_cool_d does have a point
look at it in a different racial context, if the same situation happened to a latino person or an asian or pretty much anybody who speaks another language than english you would not be suprised if they threw in a curse or two in a different language.
Yeah , I have very mixed feelings about this film. I think it was meant to challenge. The biggest problem I had with the whole thing is the arrangement at the end. It would have made more since for him and the girl to get make together or for her to remain with her lover. As for his blow up when his money got locked up, I find his reaction completely plausible. I bet if even Bill gates woke up one morning to discover all his assets frozen he'd be saying "where my mutha_--- mo'nay?!!!" too!
shareI agree, the ending was too tidy & lost steam. Maybe if he'd just been allowed to be the male figure from without, that could work, but not that arrangement. It reminded me of the sex scenes, those lesbians look like they having the big O with a guy, like any other babe to me, more s even than most straight women.
Peace
spikes' male ego could not handle a woman living without a man.
shareI have to tell you successful black people have to know when to turn the "black culture slang" on and turn it off. This is a skill learned very early on in all of our lives, it was taught when we were not even legally allowed to speak our peace. However that is another conversation. At happy hour our white, black, chinese and hispanic counterparts seem to know when to turn ethnic slangs on and off. This movie is not really that unrealistic. Men have sex with many different women and impregnate them all the time. Perhaps Spike is guilty of being shortsighted having not addressed the issues of STDs, maybe more importantly HIV but, a lot of lesbians are doing this right now. I really disagreed with Spikes handling of the sexual acts because it made it seem like the women were having these incredible Orgasms with the male lead character as if they were not really lesbians. I think Spike is having issues believing that a woman can really be all lesbian and not bisexual. He did miss the "mark" if he was trying to make a point, he should do episodic television where he can tell different stories through one character each week. Spike likes to throw a bunch of issues out there that are going on in the country and he accomplished that. Maybe he just wanted to get the discussion going that lesbians are paying for men to impregnate them and some are not even paying just gettin pregnant by a horny man. People are having alternative relationships( 3somes, swinging), a boyfriend and a gilfriend. The reality is that we live the motto "do what you want to do" or "anything goes", its selfish but, its real. We live our lives any way we want, no matter who is affected and I think Spike was trying to examine this within the characters. too many topics though...
share"successful black people have to know when to turn the "black culture slang" on and turn it off."
WTF?!
Everyone, give Roger Ebert's review a look at rogerebert.com. In eight words: he is right, and you are all wrong.
sharelol, not all of us are wrong if we are to accept Eberts' review. And, I happen to like this review it's a fair one. In short, I hit on some of his points, already. So we agree somewhat. What do you really think of the film? Are you right or wrong?
share