Drama

Do the Right Thing

- It's the hottest day of the summer. You can do nothing, you can do something, or you can Do the Right Thing.

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

Release Date : 1989-06-14

Language :English

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Universal Pictures40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks

Production Country : United States of America

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Salvatore 'Sal' Fragione

Original Name : Danny Aiello

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mookie

Original Name : Spike Lee

Gender : Male

Character Name : Da Mayor

Original Name : Ossie Davis

Gender : Male

Character Name : Vito Fragione

Original Name : Richard Edson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Pino Fragione

Original Name : John Turturro

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mother Sister

Original Name : Ruby Dee

Gender : Female

Character Name : Radio Raheem

Original Name : Bill Nunn

Gender : Male

Character Name : Buggin Out

Original Name : Giancarlo Esposito

Gender : Male

Character Name : Tina

Original Name : Rosie Perez

Gender : Female

Character Name : Smiley

Original Name : Roger Guenveur Smith

Gender : Male

Character Name : Mister Señor Love Daddy

Original Name : Samuel L. Jackson

Gender : Male

Character Name : ML

Original Name : Paul Benjamin

Gender : Male

Character Name : Coconut Sid

Original Name : Frankie Faison

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sweet Dick Willie

Original Name : Robin Harris

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jade

Original Name : Joie Lee

Gender : Female

Character Name : Officer Mark Ponte

Original Name : Miguel Sandoval

Gender : Male

Character Name : Officer Gary Long

Original Name : Rick Aiello

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sonny

Original Name : Steve Park

Gender : Male

Character Name : Kim

Original Name : Ginny Yang

Gender : Female

Character Name : Clifton

Original Name : John Savage

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ahmad

Original Name : Steve White

Gender : Male

Character Name : Cee

Original Name : Martin Lawrence

Gender : Male

Character Name : Punchy

Original Name : Leonard L. Thomas

Gender : Male

Character Name : Ella

Original Name : Christa Rivers

Gender : Female

Character Name : Charlie

Original Name : Frank Vincent

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stevie

Original Name : Luis Antonio Ramos

Gender : Male

Character Name : Eddie

Original Name : Richard Habersham

Gender : Male

Character Name : Louise

Original Name : Gwen McGee

Gender : Female

Character Name : Korean Child

Original Name : Sherwin Park

Gender : Male

Character Name : Puerto Rican Icee Man

Original Name : Shawn Elliott

Gender : Male

Character Name : Carmen

Original Name : Diva Osorio

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stevie's Friend

Original Name : Chris Delaney

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stevie's Friend

Original Name : Angel Ramirez Jr.

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stevie's Friend

Original Name : Sixto Ramos

Gender : Male

Character Name : Stevie's Friend

Original Name : Nelson Vasquez

Gender : Male

Character Name : Hector

Original Name : Travell Lee Toulson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Sergeant

Original Name : Joel Nagle

Gender : Male

Character Name : Plainclothes Detective

Original Name : David E. Weinberg

Gender : Male

Character Name : Double Dutch Girl

Original Name : Yatte Brown

Gender : Male

Character Name : Double Dutch Girl

Original Name : Mecca Brunson

Gender : Male

Character Name : Double Dutch Girl

Original Name : Shawn Stainback

Gender : Male

Character Name : Double Dutch Girl

Original Name : Soquana Wallace

Gender : Male

Character Name : Customer in Pizzeria (uncredited)

Original Name : Erik Dellums

Gender : Male

Character Name : Policeman (uncredited)

Original Name : Nicholas Turturro

Gender : Male

Reviews

Wuchak

@Wuchak

2021-08-23

_**When someone does the wrong thing and others react the wrong way**_ On a hot summer day in a predominantly black neighborhood in Brooklyn, one person makes the wrong decision and sets off a chain of events that results in havoc. Rosie Perez is a highlight on the feminine front. “Do the Right Thing” was Spike Lee’s breakthrough film that he made when he was 31. It’s a stylish and spirited account of a mostly black community in New York City that’s well-rounded with drama, humor, entertainment, honesty and tragedy. On the one hand, this neighborhood seems like a pleasant enough place to live, if you don’t mind the big city. The characters are not painted as one-dimensional, generally speaking; they have both attributes and faults. Yet it’s a relatively peaceable environment with the various races/ethnicities getting along just fine with only minor (and amusing) altercations. Nevertheless, it’s a tinderbox that doesn’t take much to set aflame. The last act leaves a bad taste. I can’t believe Lee had the gonads to be this honest, but he shows why most people don’t want to live or do business in black neighborhoods, including many blacks. While people debate who’s right and who’s wrong, it’s simple to figure out: Buggin Out taking offense about something immaterial at Sal’s pizzeria is unjustified. If he thinks it’s that big of a deal he doesn’t have to dine there, plus he can start his own restaurant and decorate it however he wishes. At the same time, it could be argued that Sal should’ve reacted in a wiser way that turned away Buggin Out’s curious anger, rather than augment it. Meanwhile Radio Raheem makes a foolish decision by allowing Buggin Out to negatively influence him. Why can’t they just do the right thing? It’s frustrating. This is a well-made classic and worthy of its iconic status, it’s just not exactly my cup of tea due to the exasperating last act that’s too brutally honest. How about doing the right thing by making art that inspires hope, unity and healing for inner city communities? This piece points to the problem, inspires questions & debates, but offers no solutions except… move away from black neighborhoods. The film runs 2 hours and was shot in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. GRADE: B-

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-06-03

Whilst there can be no doubt of the potency of the theme here, I thought the nature of the story telling was all over the place and angry. With temperatures rising, literally and metaphorically, the bored youth of an area of Brooklyn are becoming more and more frustrated. The thrust of these frustrations is epitomised by a battle of wills between Italian American pizzeria owner "Sal" (Danny Aiello) and his growing number of African American clientele. His walls are covered with famous faces - Al Pacino, Frank Sinatra, etc. from his heritage but his new customers feel that they are under represented. "Sal" isn't about to be bullied into anything, and to be fair to Spike Lee he does cleverly use this slow burning fuse to illustrate an whole slew of racial attitudes amongst a diverse community where change was coming - like it or not. As the heat shows no sign of abating, tempers finally flare and a denouement results in quite some eye-opening tragedy that though effective, I found completely anachronistic. It's told very much from one perspective but not puritanically. I think that might actually exacerbate my dislike of the proceedings because what appears to be happening to a decent and hard working American citizen is that he is being bullied, coerced and ultimately violated because he won't abandon his own traditions in favour of someone else's. It's cunningly depicting a change of identity for this community in a survival of the fittest fashion that I found quite intimidating. This isn't really about the characters themselves, more about the politics of a situation that became more and toxic as people left their conciliation hat at the door of reason on their way in. The dialogue struggled to get past the fu section of the dictionary and that just compounded the sense that it was more of a not so subtle rant than a story of respect offering any decent form societal evolution and equality. Maybe Lee would do it differently now? As it is, it's raw - but not in a good way.