what is the problem...?

Rating: 9/10 (22 April 2004)

I'd just like to present my views on some talking points regarding 'He Got Game' - The whole thing about the sex - people are completely misunderstanding Spike Lee as a filmmaker. His movies are not supposed to be completely realistic, they are stylized, lyrical, and poetic. This film was misinterpreted as being a literal account of a young bball player's journey towards the NBA and the pressures he faces. In actuality, it is a fictional vehicle for Lee to present his ideas. I mean, look at his other movies - Do the Right Thing, Clockers, Summer of Sam - these movies are all believed to be serious, realistic pictures, when in fact they are not at all. They deal with serious issues that Lee wants to discuss and get out there, but they are presented in ways for him to do so, not for him to tell a real life story with real characters. The only movie of his that I feel is not at least somewhat sylized is Malcolm X, for obvious reasons. Lee has his own cinematic language, and it is not meant to be taken literally; the sex scenes that everyone loves to get red in the face and rave about were just a representation of the temptations the Jesus character faces. About the name, it's obviouslly supposed to be somewhat absurd, and the conversation between father and son simply reveals that Jesus was in fact named after Earl Monroe, who really was nicknamed Jesus. I'm not sure why this is so hard to understand. It's kind of a joke, you see, and the scene where Jake tells Jesus this is an example of Lee's amazing propensity for honest and funny dialogue. He is not supposed to be Jesus Christ or anything of the sort. Who says that Jesus is a perfect character? He is drawn into the temptations and excess laid before him, and he treats his girlfriend like crap at the end. He's pretty much a typical kid, clearly something Lee tried to convey. That argument is ludicrous, that he is too a perfect character, I mean. As for the ending, it simply is yet another example as to how Spike's films are not literal, they are artistic. It wouldn't be so hard to figure out the ending if you realize that the whole movie had not been completely literal up to that point, and this was just an exaggeration of that tone. Jake is reaching out to his son from prison, which is a beautiful representation of the two men connecting after a tumultuous relationship. This is one of the best movies I have ever seen, and I'm often baffled as to why it is so lowly regarded. I really wish Lee could get some of the credit he deserves for his incredible body of work; the dude can't even get his Joe Louis project off the ground, which is an absolute disgrace that the Hollywood community should be ashamed about. How can Spike Lee not be allowed to make a movie about Joe Louis, while utter crap pollutes the cineplex every single week? Racism, politics, or whatever is causing this absurdity needs to subside so people can see Lee as possibly the most distinctive filmmaker in American history.