This was a really good movie. It is smart, funny and educational.
I just picked this movie up because it is one fot eh few Spike films I have yet to see, me being a big fan. I really was kinda iffy on the film because I read a bad review once but I should have known better than to listen to what someone else thinks.

I learned about gay couples trying to adopt and wanting to raise children, and the arrogance of the Watergate scandal, and the people involved. It might sound weird judging a movie by the cover however it was a fantasic film. Very good acting, the script was humorous and kept me tied in2 the film (especially me being a gay man ..although it would more attract to lesbian viewers). I give it a 8 of 10. My only complaint would be Q-Tip's mediocore role, I'm not sure if I agree with his acting. Reminds me of It on I Love New York 2.

I wish there were an emoticon stronger than . Maybe one throwing up blood and organs!

I HATED HATED HATED this film, and I was offended on so many levels I don't even know where to begin.

I'm a huge Spike Lee fan, and so I committed to drive an hour to some art house outside of Cleveland to see the film. (The poor distribution should have been my first tipoff.) I get to the theater and I am literally the ONLY person there to see this. They actually had packed up the film to return the next day, but they felt sorry that I had driven so far, and they spooled it up for me.

I watched and felt downright raped... with no Vaseline. First, that he tried to juggle the issues of the racial glass ceiling in the business world, the American obsession with black male sexual prowess, corporate corruption and whistleblowing, disparities in the justice system, the cult of media, gay parenting, paternal responsibiity, the challenges of gender variance in the black community, a bisexual love triangle and relationship and health concerns for aging blacks is mind boggling! I was on the verge of a nosebleed. It's like Spike had 12 scripts in front of him and decided to smoosh them together.

Then, he chose to depict lesbians (only his second-ever use of LGBT characters in speaking roles in his 20+ year career) in THE most deplorable and stereotypical ways possible. Some are pretty much linebackers with women's plumbing; some are emotionally crippled women who "retreated" to lesbianism after developing a seasoned disdain for males; still others are total lipstick hotties designed solely to give jollies to hetero male viewers. The lead lezbo is actually just a sexually confused femme fatale who uses her shrewdness and alluring charm to manipulate her former male lover and her current (and completely disempowered) female lover for money and domestic security, respectively! Then, in perhaps the WORST resolution in film history, the three wind up in some strange, forced polyamorous mess! The ultimate straight male college student's wet dream! I couldn't BELIEVE what I was seeing... and from such an otherwise politically conscientious filmmaker.

Q-Tip was both mediocre and expendable, but he was by far the best thing in the film! ...And I won't even mention the one-dimensional white characters or the crappy production quality.

Spike should have done the Allen Smithee thing with this dog.
[Edited 2/1/08 4:00am]

i have the dvd, and never felt compelled to watch it until now.

ima have to put it on this weekend and come back and report, it intrigues me to hear two so differing views from two intelligent brothers.

I have a grudging respect for "She Hate Me" and I actually detest much of Spike's work. The only films of his I really like are the ones where he puts aside his elitism and makes some really valid points. "Jungle Fever," "Do the Right Thing," and "Bamboozled" (probably my favorite film of his and certainly the one that most makes people uncomfortable).

"She Hate Me" had an odd effect on me. I thought the premise was ludicrous and certainly most of what Lammastide says is true. But the thing about its portrayal of lesbians is that it was INTENDED to be offensive and was SUPPOSED to be "the ultimate straight guy's wet dream." Many people cried foul over "Chasing Amy" too for the same reason...though that film went on to be on NOW's top feminist films of that year (1997).

"She Hate Me" is a very angry film, probably the second angriest film Spike's ever made ("Bamboozled" is still the first IMO), and Spike lets his anger cloud his vision to the point where the film's a TOTAL mess. But in between the messiness are some valid points about the stereotype of black male sexual prowess and how ridiculous and damaging it is. Roger Ebert's review of the film is very well written and he was one of the only mainstream critics to applaud the film.

I'd never watch "She Hate Me" again, but Spike definitely had a few good ideas floating around in his head. He just really executed them sloppily.

Lammastide said:

i agreed with just about everything you said. the sex scenes were so awkward (i think that's the word ). i mean, these are supposed to be lesbians right? they all seem like they're having the thrills of their lives . as a dude i can't say that i really minded it all ( ) even though it made no sense. i've always been a spike lee fan. in fact it was his movie, girl 6,that got me into prince. (as i've said like a million times here ) this is the only one i truly dislike. even the look of the film is so dreary and uninteresting, which is never the case in his movies and part of why i like him so much as a filmmaker. he's done a few bad movies honestly, but this, in my opinion, was his worst.

There is a typo in the title.

JustErin said:

should been

She Hate Mens

roodboi said:

Spike has often spoken with regret about the rape scene in "She's Gotta Have It." He's chalked it up to immaturity and naiveté.

But "She Hate Me" seemed to mine the same territory: But this time, instead of it being limited to a scene, it was the whole movie: an emotional brutality mired in a renunciation of all things romantic.

With "She Hate Me," Spike seemed to be embracing or expressing something almost bestial.

ThreadBare said:

To me expressing a more 00's love story. Where things like this happen..and probably can be true. It did not exploit lesbians to me. People just have their turtlenecks on too tight. Loosen up

paisleypark4 said:

with Lammie...


Spike has never been able to successful develop his female characters. They are "types" of women. Even with She's gotta have it, Nola's character was so underdeveloped and so incredible empty.


She Hate Me is just some anger that he needed to vent.


One of his worse movies in my opinion.

I hated the shit outta this one, & I like most of Spike's films. It was just so unfocused & forced &... shitty

paisleypark4 said:

My turtlenecks are lamentably loose, darn-near floppy.

I think other movies can legitimately make the claim to a 21st-century love story. And, I don't think the exploitation was limited to the under-developed female characters. I think the male lead was exploited, too.

It was just a bad, bad movie. Even with Sarita Choudhury in it.

LOL. NO really though. I understand how you guys feel about the female characters being underdeveloped. I dont think I have seen a Spike film where a female was the lead, and still havenmt seen She's Gotta Have It just yet . However Spike is my main man. I think the only movie I didnt like by him is "27 Hours" and Clockers. However Crooklyn I thought also was a good movie and people looked it over too. I think people read way too much in2 Spike for who he is, rather than acting as if the movie was directed by another. However I understand the feeling of being violated...just don't think it's that serious.

Well, the sex scene was hot

paisleypark4 said:

one of the best female characters in a spike movie....DIES in Crooklyn

Rhondab said:

That's the truth. Though, she was a bit of a shrew...

Rhondab said:

That's because she died in reality...

violator said:

Dude, Alfre Woodard was at the Democratic debate last night...

ThreadBare said:

shut up!!

ThreadBare said:

[ba doom tis']

Rhondab said:

She was!

Was V thinkin' about the awesome Lynne Thigpen, perhaps?

I really couldn't stand this movie and I've got School Daze AND She's Gotta Have It on DVD. That's like having Grafitti Bridge on DVD! (which I do).

Mars23 said:

Yall crackin me up with Woodward. This is a great movie!

ThreadBare said:

I thought you were kidding at first. You realize 'Crooklyn' is semi-biographical, no? Woodard was playing Lee's mother who died in reality. The whole thing is told from the perspective of his sister Joie.

violator said:

that's why I told him to shut up

Rhondab said:

That's riiiiight.

I feared Woodard had died overnight and that the mainstream media hadn't picked it up yet....



I'm gonna go eat lunch now.

ThreadBare said:

U a mess

Admittingly not one of Spikes best and I'm a BIG fan.
But U cannot beat Raul Midon's "Adam'n'Eve'n'Eve" track at the end, the end credit music to Spike Lee's music usually comes up trumps and this is NO exception!

'dre