Brooklyn, Spike
Lee’s home, has starred in his movies from the start.
And the BAMCinematek will show us a slice of his unabashed boosterism
in its weekend series, "Spike Lee’s Brooklyn," which
runs March 6 through March 9.
Nola Darling, the aptly named heroine of Lee’s 1986 debut feature,
the refreshing, breezy romantic comedy "She’s Gotta Have
It" (March 7), leads the way with her no-nonsense attitude
towards the trio of men she’s seeing – including Lee in his first
hilarious appearance as Mars Blackmon.
The borough looks very different in two other series entries.
"Do the Right Thing" (March 8, pictured) ignited a
firestorm of controversy in 1989 with its unflinching look at
a volatile street corner in Bed-Stuy on the hottest day of the
summer, while 1991’s "Jungle Fever" (March 6) found
racism rampant on both sides of an interracial affair between
Bensonhurst secretary Annabella Sciorra and her boss Wesley Snipes.
To round out the slate, 1994’s little-seen "Crooklyn"
(March 9) finds Lee looking at growing up in the ’70s through
only partly rose-colored glasses: at turns sentimental and cynical
– just look at the movie’s title! – "Crooklyn" is nevertheless
a paean to the place that, love it or hate it, Spike Lee calls
home.
"Spike Lee’s Brooklyn" is at BAMCinematek (30 Lafayette
Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene) March 6-9. Tickets are
$10; $6 Cinema Club Members, seniors and children under 12. For
more information, visit the Web site at www.bam.org or call (718)
636-4100.
GOTTA HAVE IT
