Lee has a small, intimate talent; here, he goes for the big podium and blows it.
Comment
06/24/06
School Daze (1987)
58
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:19
Fresh:11
Rotten:8
Average Rating:5.7/10
Synopsis: With SCHOOL DAZE, writer-director Spike Lee examines the tensions, biases, and frustrations of middle-class black youth at a southern college campus. Lee combines musical and fantasy sequences with... [More]
Starring: Tisha Campbell, Laurence Fishburne, Giancarlo Esposito, Kyme
Director: Spike Lee
Reviews for School Daze
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
Although the film has big structural problems and leaves a lot of loose ends, there was never a moment when it didn't absorb me.
01/01/00
Top CriticEven with all its flaws, School Daze is worth seeing, because Lee gets into areas no director before had even bothered to come near.
01/01/00
The film’s central argument is that black matriculation is undercut by internal divisions.
02/13/05
School Daze, with its pompous patchwork plot, is an arrogant, humorless, sexist mess.
01/01/00
Top CriticThe film's political issues are far more interesting than its artistic attributes--this messy picture feels as if Spike Lee is just incidentally interested in what makes musical movies work
11/29/06
For every tough-minded confrontation between the different student factions, School Daze is apt to offer a love scene less than vital to the plot, or an overlong musical scene whose effect is that of treading water.
05/20/03
Top Criticambitious, messy, rowdy comedy-drama, which tosses together fraternity foolishness, campus activism, lusty romance and even a few musical numbers
12/19/02
Spike Lee had something in mind while he shot School Daze, his follow-up to the cult hit She's Gotta Have It. Unfortunately it's still lodged behind his cranium.
01/01/00
Top CriticA shapeless mess that falls far short of the high expectations created by Lee's first feature.
09/23/08
Top CriticSome of the issues get lost in the mix, but strong performances by Lee and Fishburne make this a watchable and thought-provoking venture.
09/23/08
Top CriticClick to read the article
09/23/08
Top CriticUneven and a little dull, although the ending inspires.
03/10/04
An uneven but probably necessary stepping stone between "She's Gotta Have It" and "Do The Right Thing"
06/07/04
No review available.
07/21/03
No review available.
12/28/04
No review available.
08/29/02
No review available.
11/04/02
No review available.
07/27/02
No review available.
08/09/02
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z; Australian critics are listed first)
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