Queer Review: She Hate Me (2004)

She Hate Me
Director: Spike Lee
Writers: Spike Lee and Michael Genet. Based upon the book by Michael Genet.
Cast: Anthony Mackie, Kerry Washington, Ellen Barkin, Woody Harrelson

Overview
She Hate Me can be considered a lesser effort by Spike Lee, but even one of his lesser effort stands head and shoulders above nearly everything else. Like many other Spike Lee films, She Hate Me has attracted it's fair share of controversy, the label of homophobic being among the more common.

Synopsis
John Armstrong (aka Jack) (Anthony Mackie) is the youngest Vice President of the biotech company that he works for, which is developing a cure for AIDS. When Jack finds out the company is engaged in an elaborate Enron type scandal that was concocted by the CEO Leland Powell (Woody Harrelson), he informs the authorities. This results in Jack being fired from his job and his bank account frozen. In order to maintain his upper class lifestyle, Jack finds himself turning to an unusual form of prostitution - impregnating lesbians who are willing to shell out $10,000 - a career started after being approached by his ex-girlfriend, Fatima (Kerry Washington).

The Queering
Controversial and provocative are two ways of describing pretty much any Spike Lee endeavor. Lee is never one to hold anything back, and She Hate Me is no exception. The opening credits are not even finished before there are deliberate jabs at President George Bush and the Enron disaster and later there are several sequences depicting the events surrounding the Watergate scandal.

The biggest controversy that I'm aware of relates to the treatment of the lesbian characters. Naturally, this refers to the fact that the lesbians in this movie all end up sleeping with Jack. However, there is more depth here, than simple hetero male fantasizing though. While events start out on the silly side, they become more serious as the plot progresses. At the end, Jack finds himself facing the consequences of his actions. Furthermore, the film is sympathetic to the lesbians who wish desperately to be moms and shows the difficulties any gay couple that wishes to become parents must face.

Underneath it all, Lee has a few messages to preach, but at this point in his career, should anyone be surprised? Spike Lee includes messages in his movies, the way Michael Bay does explosions, loud and all over the place. For She Hate Me Lee has several targets, including George W. Bush and Enron. Plus there's also references to the fate of Frank Willis - the security guard who exposed the Watergate Scandal and died penniless - a fate that Jack finds himself facing as well. However, the final product is a bit of a muddle. Whereas Lee has managed to explore complex thematic material before in the past while still managing to make his underlying themes perfectly clear, here he fails miserably.

On the other hand, from a strictly technical perspective, there are few directors who can compete with Spike Lee. There is some nice cinematography, in particular take note of an early shot early on where a character is looking straight up into the sky. Anthony Mackie gives a strong performance and is ably supported by the rest of the cast.

Recommendation
Recommended primarily for those who have enjoyed Spike Lee's previous efforts as the unfocused thematic material does not entirely diminish the final product. However, this ultimately can be enjoyed by anyone who will keep an open mind while viewing.

The Rating




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