 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Do the Right Thing
- Review Date: October 3, 2009
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1989
Common Sense Media says
Spike Lee's masterwork of racial unrest; discuss with kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this Spike Lee film is an intense study of racism as it existed in an urban U.S. neighborhood during the late 1980s. There are many angry racial confrontations using provocative, coarse language and highly-charged racial taunts, including constant use of "n----r." Violence realistically depicted includes: a riot, fistfights, a crowd setting fire to a restaurant, a man being choked by police using a baton. One sexual scene shows a couple during foreplay and uses extreme close-ups of a woman's body parts: her legs, her breasts, her neck. A leading character drinks beer continuously.
What's the story?
On one hot summer day in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, residents battle despair, joblessness, discrimination, and each other. Blame is everywhere; anger predominates. A collection of volatile characters of diverse ethnic backgrounds, including the owner of a pizzeria and his sons, a local disc jockey, a pizza delivery man, a single unwed mother, and many others, interact as tensions escalate and ultimately erupt in a nightmare of violence and destruction.
Is it any good?
Distinctive, memorable characters and a highly original structure contribute to the powerful experience of DO THE RIGHT THING. Spike Lee uses vibrant music, unusual close-ups, bright colors, an abundance of "street language," and breaking the fourth wall (characters speaking directly into the camera) to bring the viewer right into the community of Bedford-Stuyvesant on a simmering, seething day. Lee and his brilliant actors, working from his own dynamic screenplay, create that world exactly as it might have been in the late 1980s (or might still be). He offers no judgments on what takes place and, as a result, the viewer must come to his or her own conclusions. The movie is stark, perhaps insightful, and often very poignant.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about how Spike Lee shaped his unique vision. Why does the story take place over one day? Why do you think Lee made the weather such an important part of the story?
Some scenes have characters talking directly into the camera... how does that help tell the story?
Take a look at the different characters' relationships with music: Sal's Italian heroes, Radio Raheem's obsession with hip-hop. How does the music represent the characters' view of the world?
Since this movie was made (1989), do you think there's more or less racial prejudice in the U.S.? What has changed? What hasn't changed? Are there new and/or different groups facing such bigotry?
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- Teens & kids
Kid, 12 years old
February 10, 2012
AGE
Dull and very Grown-Up
I don't know why people LOVE this film, nothing happens until the end. The only good actors in the film Ossie Davis and Danny Aileo. Constant swears and racial slurs dominate this film. The Blacks destroy a Pizza Place and set it on fire and cops stick a baton in a another Black person's mouth until he chokes and dies, and a woman's bare breasts are shown. If you want see a Spike Lee film, there are better ones out there.
What other families should know:
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Adult
June 24, 2012
AGE
Thumbs Down
Another terrible movie from the racist producer Spike Lee.
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Adult
October 31, 2012
AGE
My Favorite Spike Lee Film
This Is My Favorite Spike Lee Film.
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Teen, 14 years old
March 9, 2013
AGE
Power to the people
One of the greatest movies ever made.
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| Studio: | Universal Studios Home Entertainment |
| Director: | Spike Lee |
| Cast: | Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Spike Lee |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 120 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | June 30, 1989 |
| DVD release date: | February 20, 2001 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | adult content, adult language, and violence |
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