She's Gotta Have It (1986) on Netflix
Nola Darling, a Brooklyn graphic artist, dates three men at once: Jamie Overstreet, Greer Childs and Mars Blackmon. She will not commit to one, and each wants her for himself.
- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.7/1017,877 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes91%
Trailer
Plot summary
Nola Darling is a young graphic artist living in Brooklyn. She is dating three men at the same time: Jamie Overstreet, Greer Childs, and Mars Blackmon. Jamie is polite, protective, and patriarchal. Greer is a wealthy, vain, and arrogant male model. Mars is a comical, juvenile, and immature jokester. Nola is attracted to different qualities in each of them, but she refuses to commit to any one man. She cherishes her personal freedom and will not be owned by a single partner. Each of the three men wants her for himself alone. The story is told by Nola and by the men and friends around her.
Cast
- Cheryl Burras Ava
- Aaron Duggeras Noble
- Stephanie Covingtonas Keva
- Renata Cobbsas Shawn
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about She's Gotta Have It (1986)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Spike Lee's planned bicycle-messenger film, Messenger, fell through in the summer of 1984 for lack of funding; he then redirected an $18,000 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts, originally meant for Messenger, to She's Gotta Have It.
- Spike Lee shot the film over twelve days in Brooklyn in the summer of 1985 on a $175,000 budget, mostly in black and white with a single color sequence, using a non-union crew and no film permits or insurance.
- Facing budget constraints, Spike Lee took the part of Mars Blackmon himself because he could not afford to hire another actor.
- Spike Lee made multiple edits to win an R rating from the Motion Picture Association of America, then argued its demand for numerous cuts came from discomfort with African-American love scenes, comparing his film to Body Double and 9½ Weeks.
- To research the lead character, Spike Lee worked with a Spelman College classmate on a questionnaire circulated among thirty-five women, asking about unfulfilled fantasies, their perceptions of men and their preferences in sexual acts.
- To finish the film, Spike Lee held a rough cut screening at NYU and later called on the attendees to "become financially involved in helping us complete it."
- Quentin Tarantino, along with collaborators Roger Avary and Craig Hamann, counted the film's production and low budget as a major influence on his unreleased first film My Best Friend's Birthday and later Reservoir Dogs.
- The film is credited with catalyzing the Fort Greene, Brooklyn neighborhood where it was shot, portraying it as a vibrant cosmopolitan community where successful African Americans thrived.
