Do The Right Thing, reviewed by Tommy Petroskey

Spike’s Project by Tommy Petroskey

            It’s the hottest day of the year in Brooklyn, NY when director, and lead actor, Spike Lee, dives head first into the controversial tension filled film “Do The Right Thing.”  Kickin’ us off in the beginning of the movie is the silver tongued lovable DJ, telling us all to “wake up!”  Within the first couple of minutes the film introduces us to the many characters of the film, a convenience store owned by a Korean family, and Sal’s Famous Pizzeria the only white business in the neighborhood.

            Spike Lee’s way of telling the stories of the many different characters in the movie was certainly innovative, but hard to follow.  The action of each story switched so quickly, it was hard for me to tell if there were hundreds of meaningful conflicts that contributed to the progression of the movie or simply just none at all.  However everything at the end of the movie tied back to the conflict introduced in the very beginning.  The conflict was that Mookies friend Buggin’ Out wanted to start a boycott of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria for not posting any men of color onto his “Wall of Fame.”  But the beginning and end of the movie seemed to be the only two times it was mentioned, which struck me as odd.  The acting in this movie was decent.  The emotions of Sal (Danny Aeillo) and his boys, Pino (John Turturro) and Vito (Richard Edson) were all over the map throughout this film.  Talk about a love hate relationship, these men were at each other’s throats one scene, and a big happy family the next.  I was unsure if that was a goal Mr. Lee was trying to accomplish or if I was simply getting the wrong impression from some bad acting.  Either way I didn’t like it.         

            The movie as a whole came together nicely and was a pretty respectable film.  I certainly give credit to Mr. Lee on this film, the most accomplished film he has made.  I was entertained and interested to an extent throughout this movie, which can be no doubt a hard thing to accomplish when a director is trying to send a strong message.  This movie had a purpose and definitely left me thinking about it afterwards, for which I applaud Mr. Lee and his controversial film.