Do the Right Thing-1989

Director Spike Lee

Starring Spike Lee

Scott’s Review #746

Reviewed April 21, 2018

Grade: A

Do the Right Thing is one of the few great films to come out of 1989, a year often remembered as a fantastic one in cinema, when most mainstream films were as glossy as tin foil and barren of quality substance.

Here’s a small, independent gem that sparked discussions about race relations in the United States and became a monumental, influential film.

Filmmaker (and star) Spike Lee carves a controversial story of racial tensions in a Brooklyn neighborhood on a hot summer day.

Starting light and comedic, then turning violent and dark, the action is set in a largely Black neighborhood, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, where twenty-five-year-old Mookie (Spike Lee) delivers pizzas at an Italian pizzeria owned by Sal (Danny Aiello).

With a toddler at home and a nagging girlfriend, Tina (Rosie Perez), always in his face, Mookie is unmotivated yet still a decent guy and a loyal friend.

Sal has two sons who work at the pizza place: Pino (John Turturro), who is angry and racist, and Vito, a nice guy and Mookie’s friend.

When conflicts erupt over whether Sal’s restaurant should celebrate black celebrities and white celebrities on a wall in the dining room, tensions reach their breaking point as the intense heatwave makes matters much worse.

What makes Do the Right Thing a marvel is both the film’s overall tone and the atmosphere Spike Lee conveys, who also writes, produces, and stars in it.

The elements that have little to do with the actual story immediately impress with big, bright, comic-book-style colors that scream at the big screen, eliciting both a warm, inviting feeling and an angry, contemptuous vibe.

The loud rap and hip-hop beats are instrumental in conveying the film’s specific feeling and emotion.

Made independently and on a small budget, the film feels raw and intense from the get-go.

Brooklyn and New York City, in particular, are the perfect settings, as Sal and his family are white folks living in a predominantly Black neighborhood, so the minorities in the story are the ones in the minority.

Additionally, the viewer sees the friendly neighborhood and feels a sense of belonging regardless of race; the humorous drunk, the kindly, grandmotherly people-watcher on her stoop, and the boombox-music kid all create a sense of community and togetherness.

This point is tremendously important to the film’s overall plot.

The relationship between Mookie and Sal, and Sal and his sons, is central to the film, and I found it a compelling character study.

Open-minded, Sal is a decent man and fine with the diversity in his neighborhood- yet still true to his Italian roots. Aiello does a fantastic job of portraying this complex, conflicted character.

His two sons could not be more different: Vito, a close friend of Mookie’s, is sympathetic and sweet, with nary a racist bone in his body.

Pino, on the other hand, is angry and resentful of the black community taking over what he feels is his territory.

Finally, while lazy, Mookie is also a sympathetic character, as he is conflicted when the tension reaches its boiling point.

These diverse characters make the film so dynamic.

Revered director Spike Lee crafts a story and brings it to the big screen, tackling an important topic as vital today as it was when Do the Right Thing was released in 1989.

The film is intelligent and timely without being condescending to either Black or white audiences, or preachy; instead, it tells a poignant story that is angry and sometimes painful to watch, but, more importantly, empathetic and real.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Danny Aiello, Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen

Golden Globe Nominations: Best Picture- Drama, Best Director-Spike Lee, Best Supporting Actor-Danny Aiello, Best Screenplay