School Daze (1988)

 School Daze (1988)

Spike Lee’s School Daze is a very interesting movie. Unlike many movies from this time period, Lee tackles subjects which some people may deem controversial head-on. His movie, which takes place in an all-black college, is about what it is like to be black. It is not even really about white versus black, but light-skinned versus dark-skinned blacks. That is something movies back then did not dare speak about (not even Eddie Murphy). Lee gave his sophomore feature some hard-hitting ideas. Sadly, the film could not live up to these ideas. Despite some good songs (yeah, I did like Da Butt), I am not entirely sure if this movie needed to be set in a musical format. Lee gave his film tons of energy, but this energy is countered with overacting and unfinished story structures. This film definitely has ambition and heart, but it is not the best Lee feature out there.

After his thrilling debut She’s Gotta Have It, Lee returns with his unique, fresh perspective about college hazing. He actually had a unique way in creating his film. Just like John Landis did in Animal House, Lee incorporated a separation method. This film has two groups, “the wannabees” and “the jigaboos,” warring with one another. Each group were given separate accommodations and one group had better accommodations than the other. That created some tension and conflict on set. In fact, you may remember that step show fight? It was a legitimate fight and Lee ordered his cameras to keep rolling. I thought that was a unique method. Was everyone happy? Nope, but it definitely worked for the film. Ideas like these is why Lee is such an accomplished director, even if his movie does not turn out to be great.

Lee, who also wrote the film’s script, follows these undergraduates at an all-black university. These undergrads are divided into two groups as mentioned above. These divisions are dramatized by two characters; Dap Dunlap (Laurence Fishburne) who is a student leader and activist and constantly lead rallies against the school’s conservative administration and Half-Pint (Spike Lee), the very small kid who dreams about joining the school’s most popular fraternity. These two young men are cousins, yet have some very different ideas. As the movie progresses, how will these different groups interact with one another and the school’s administration?

The performances are okay. If anything, overacting is the main issue here. Laurence Fishburne does a decent job although he does fall prey to overacting. I never thought Spike Lee was as good as an actor as director and this film does nothing to change that notion. I did like Giancarlo Esposito’s performance as Julian. This man can do no wrong with his roles. If you like to spot cameos or actors before their prime, keep an eye out for Samuel L. Jackson.

I did find School Daze to be watchable and at least interesting. Lee is never afraid to speak his mind when it comes to themes, and of course that applies here. He tackles issues rarely seen in movies for another two, three decades later. There is always the white on black racism, but black on black racism is also apparent. Some scenes are heartbreaking and hard to watch. I still cannot forget the scene with Half-Pint and Julian’s girlfriend. Because Lee focuses on his themes too much, there are some unresolved storylines. The film begins with South Africa demonstrations, but seems to forget all about them. My main issue here is the structure of the story, It is incredibly messy and took me out of the film at times. If I was to add another positive, it is the legendary Ruth E. Carter’s costume design. She nailed the costumes of the college kids. Definitely a film to watch from a historical perspective, but Do the Right Thing is the Lee film to watch.

My Grade: C+