Quick recap: Nola Darling is perfectly happy dating 3 guys at the same time but the guys turn it into a competition to be her boyfriend.

Nola and Jamie

Fun (?) fact: The film was shot in 12 days and because of the tight budget. There were no retakes.

Nola and Mars

My thoughts: She’s Gotta Have It is my first Spike Lee film and I’m so glad I started with it. I expected some sort of comedic romance story about a girl having to choose between three guys but thank god it went so much deeper than that. For starters, it’s directed in the style of a documentary, although it’s never clear who is filming everyone’s confessions. Combined with a no name cast (besides Spike Lee), the whole saga seemed real and got me invested in the characters. She’s Gotta Have It is also wonderfully progressive, which is even more amazing considering it was made in 1986.

So, Nola is dating 3 guys- Jamie (sensitive jazzy guy), Mars (funny cool guy) and Greer (narcissist). The guys all know about each other, so it’s not like she is being deceitful in anyway. She is also upfront about wanting everything to be casual, going so far as to reprimand any of the guys who mistakenly say they are in love with her. Jamie, however, flat out asks her to make a choice about settling down and this ruins everything. I love how opposite this is compared to other rom-coms. Settling down makes Nola miserable and unhappy. She just wants to be herself and not tied down to anyone. Society still has an issue with this point so I’m kind of astounded by Spike Lee’s stance.

Despite all the evidence, a part of me wanted Nola to ‘settle down’ and choose Jamie. He was the obvious choice, of course: bringing her groceries when she was sick,staging an elaborate dance sequence for her birthday and helping to clean up after the Thanksgiving meal. He is your typical ‘nice guy’. He’s the kind of guy that sits around, not being able to fathom how come he doesn’t have girls falling at his feet because he is such a ‘nice guy’. Which is a dangerous thing to think about, because it breeds resentment and you know what resentment breeds, kids! That’s right, the Dark Side. Which Jamie manifests one evening by coming over and raping Nola. It’s horrible and ugly and utterly realistic because it makes her rethink her life and and decide he is the one she wants after all.

As I was about to write off this movie, it ends with Nola confessing to the camera that she in fact broke it off with Jamie soon after because she realized he wanted her to be something she wasn’t. I loved how nonchalant she was about the realization and how it drove home the point that she is who she is and there is nothing wrong with it. Perfection.

Final review: 5/5.

Up next: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Quick recap: A couple divorces, due to perceived infidelity. They soon realize, however, how much they love each other and separately scheme a way to reunite.

And there’s a dog! And there’s a Cary Grant!

Fun (?) fact: Most of the film was improvised. Director Leo McCarey would set up a situation, give a starting line and then see what the actors would come up with. It ended up working out beautifully but also sounds like a train wreck waiting to happen.

My thoughts: First of all, if you have not done so yet, go and download the podcast ‘You Must Remember This’. It is phenomenal and listening to it has given me the energy I need to get through these older Hollywood films. There are a wide range of topics, but my favorite so far has been about the ‘golden age’ of Hollywood. And also the Manson murders, but that has nothing to do with this movie, I don’t think. Then again, there might be a 6 degrees Kevin Bacon game going on there that I don’t know about.

I have generally disliked movies from the 30s because so much of the acting has seemed like, well, acting. But The Awful Truth is a wonderful exception to this self-made stereotype, thank god. The first few minutes had me worried for a bit that this was going to be about rich white people with no personalities (which is still somehow a thing), but then Irene Dunne, as Lucy, walked in and I fell in love. The movie wastes no time in getting to the accusations of infidelity and I was so charmed by the banter between Lucy and Jerry, played by Grant. How charmed, you ask? Charmed enough to use the word charmed in a sentence! The two just seemed so natural together and obviously miserable apart. I’m not one for romance, but I was actively hoping they would get back together very soon.

I also loved The Awful Truth because it was so progressive for its time. Lucy is a strong woman on her own and I loved watching her match wits with Jerry. She kept getting in crazy situations, but not necessarily because she was a woman who didn’t know any better. And Jerry didn’t have that roughness men from the 30 seemed to have, where they might be romantic but underneath still knew they were in charge of the situation. He seemed genuinely in love with Lucy and hurt she would betray him. The last scene, too, was shockingly modern. After the two rekindle their relationship (c’mon, you knew that was coming), a clock is shown but instead of a cuckoo bird popping out, there is a miniature Jerry and Lucy emerging from separate doors. The little Jerry meets with little Lucy in the middle and then follows her to her side of the clock. It was a clever way to indicate hooking up and I’m impressed it was left in by the censors.

Final review: 5/5

Up next: The Good, The Bad and The Weird