Review of Do the Right Thing (1989) by Shane M — 12 Jul 2014

Social commentary in the most realistic way possible, showing us how it affects a neighborhood. Do the Right Thing (a Spike Lee joint) follows a neighborhood in the midst of racial tension who try to deal with the hottest day of the summer, and deal with an issue with a man named Buggin' Out boycotting a pizzeria named Sal's as Sal's "Wall of Fame" doesn't have any "brothers" on it.

The film came at a time when racism was getting out of control, and help was needed quickly. Movies have seem to inspire people (even though like all inspirational media, most of it is fiction), and there's no denying the action taking place throughout.

The film also explores a neighborhood divided by racial issues, the lifestyle of the inhabitants, as well as what takes place in one particular day as the majority of the movie takes place in one day.

Another thing is the daily occurences with the lives of certain characters, and their unique nicknames and names, like "Da Mayor", "Mother Sister", "Radio Raheem", "Smiley", and "Mookie".

Another thing is the conflict taking place in the neighborhood, such as people playing in the streets, using the fire hydrants to cool off, soak a person's car (convertible with no roof=extra hilarity), act mean to a mentally handicapped person, tell off a couple people, act mean to anyone, arrive late to work, constantly take breaks, always take forever to deliver a pizza (Mookie has a job delivering pizza, which is the only person you see working outside the pizzeria throughout the film, and of course, rioting, which is a main issue, especially when it is caused by mistreatment of others, including the opposite race, which is the focus.

The film reveals a lot about the treatment of the two races, their possessions, their complaints, issues, and problems. The incredible thing is, it happens over the course of one day, which is pretty incredible considering how much you can learn of the inhabitants of a neighborhood that quickly (trust me, one day is quick, even if you like to talk to others).

The huge attractions to the film are its use of music, and its opening scene, which leaves the audience surprised and pumped up for what's to come, though it is very harsh in nature and tone, especially when it explores themes of race relations, the role of media in the community (rock music and the "Wall of Fame"), urban crime and poverty, colorism in the black community and at time, political issues, which are Lee's main themes.

And the most incredible thing of all, this was Spike Lee's second feature film after his debut She's Gotta Have It. Spike Lee contributes as director, writer, producer, and the main star of this picture.

As writer, he uses tons of racism and language, and makes sure to highlight racism as the main theme, and also making the film as realsitic as possible rather than overstuff it with over-the-top ridiculousness than turn the viewer away, and his devotion towards writing the script earned him his first ever Oscar nod for Best Original Screenplay.

Another thing he did with the script is uses a ton of laughs and real emotion in order to make it believeable. As director, he's no-holds-barred in capturing the everyday lives of civilians, and capturing the backdrop of a neighborhood, but he also makes sure his cast is not holding back and giving it all their might even in the most shocking and heart-breaking scenes.

Lee also offers up realistic content and interactions, as well as the popular trends of the 80s, and the most hard-to-do scenes. This should've received him a Best Director Oscar nod, but the Academy turned him down, as well as the Best Picture Oscar as the film was a very strong contender against Born on the Fourth of July and Dead Poets Society, although the others lost to Driving Miss Daisy, a weaker contender.

I believe Do the Right Thing should've won, but anyways, let's move on to the cast. Spike Lee is good as Mookie, a father who works at Sal's, but constantly takes a lot of breaks, and is miserable.

The supporting cast is good, including Bill Nunn as Radio Raheem, a tall man who carries a huge boom box, Giancarlo Esposito as Buggin' Out, a friend of Mookie's who wants some "brothers" on Sal's "Walk of Fame", and Rosie Perez as Tina, Mookie's foul-mouthed girlfriend who also has a son named Hector.

Another interesting thing about the film is that it marked the debuts of Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez, Danny Aiella received an Oscar nod for his portrayal lf Sal (he was the best performance in the entire film),and that it became very controversial due to the riot at the end at Sal's pizzeria, especially due to the use of violence.

A must-see, and a warning of what happens when racism goes too far.