She's Gotta Have It

Critics Consensus

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.

73%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 6,651

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She's Gotta Have It Photos

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Movie Info

Beautiful Nola Darling (Tracy Camilla Johns) can't decide what kind of man she wants to date, so she decides to date three at the same time. The first is Greer Childs (John Canada Terrell), a rich, handsome narcissist. Then there's Jamie Overstreet (Tommy Redmond Hicks), a stable, overprotective alpha male. Finally, there's Mars Blackmon (Spike Lee), a timid geek with a heart of gold. Unfortunately, while each suitor has his virtues, Darling just can't seem to make up her mind.

Genre:

romance
Original Language:

English
Director:

Spike Lee
Producer:

Spike Lee
Writer:

Spike Lee
Release Date (Streaming):

Sep 1, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA):

$5.0M
Runtime:

1h 24m
Production Co:

40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks

Cast & Crew

Tracy Camilla Johns
Nola Darling

Tommy Redmond Hicks
Jamie Overstreet

John Canada Terrell
Greer Childs

Spike Lee
Mars Blackmon

Raye Dowell
Opal Gilstrap

Bill Lee
Sonny Darling

Show all Cast & Crew

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Critic Reviews for She's Gotta Have It

All the elements of an interesting yarn are implicit here -- save one: a compelling central figure

March 17, 2008 | Full Review…

Variety Staff
Variety
She's Gotta Have It's characters talk into the camera, but they do so in service of a Rashomon-tinged postmortem on how an artistic young woman couldn't make polyamory work in her favor.

January 13, 2008 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

Eric Henderson
Slant Magazine
This delightful low-budget comedy, with its all black cast and black humour, is 100 per cent Lee.

February 9, 2006 | Full Review…

Time Out
The film probes important and intriguing questions, even if the characters are not explored as thoroughly as they might have been.

May 21, 2003 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

D.J.R. Bruckner
New York Times
Made for less than $30,000, Lee's first feature posed him as a mid-80s rival to Woody Allen, nearly equaling him in the psychological authenticity of his characters and perhaps bettering him in grace and virtuosity and sheer creative glee.

April 15, 2002 | Full Review…

Peter Keough
Chicago Reader
She's Gotta Have It is cleverly crafted.

August 23, 2019 | Full Review…

Marti Wilson
Sojourner
It's going backwards in order to move the conversation forward... This could and should have been good but, ultimately, there are too many holes, too many monologues and too many things for me to get over for me to actually enjoy it.

September 12, 2018 | Full Review…

Kemi Alemoru
Dazed and Confused
Nola is an unapologetic, sexually independent character who refuses to commit to a single man and resists the efforts of the men in her life to change who she is to please them.

December 16, 2017 | Full Review…

Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
Spike Lee's breakout comedy has lots of nudity and sex.

September 12, 2017 | Rating: 4/5 | Full Review…

Andrea Beach
Common Sense Media
Light, scrappy entertainment that flatters everything funky and fresh about Lee, tempting you to forgive what is stunted or abrasive in the film. A major swaying element is his own on-screen persona.

July 11, 2011 | Rating: B | Full Review…

Nick Davis
Nick's Flick Picks
Combining humor, drama, and documentary techniques, Lee has created an energetic film that takes an unflinching look at modern sexuality -- specifically black sexuality.

March 17, 2008 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

TV Guide
From the start, it was less important whether or not you agreed with Lee than if you appreciated him for stirring things up.

January 23, 2008 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Josh Larsen
Sun Publications (Chicago, IL)

View All Critic Reviews (32)

Audience Reviews for She's Gotta Have It

Jul 21, 2007

Spike Lee's debut feature is a racially orientated sex comedy examining attitudes within a love triangle of black suburbanites. Some witty lines but it's a little affected and self-absorbed, and it often feels like an african-american rip off of a Woody Allen film. Not bad though.

xGary X Super Reviewer