ruby dee played spike lee's girlfriend in do the right thing.
ruby dee played spike lee's girlfriend in do the right thing.
she played spike lee's girlfriend in do the right thing?
ruby dee
spike lee campaigned for robert de niro as sal the pizzeria owner, but de niro had to decline due to prior commitments. danny aiello eventually played sal and his son rick aiello played gary long, the police officer who kills radio raheem. the character of smiley was not in the original script; he was created by roger guenveur smith, who was pestering spike lee for a role in the film. four of the cast members were stand-up comedians: martin lawrence, steve park, steve white, and robin harris. lee originally wanted bill nunn to play the role of mister señor love daddy, but later recast him as radio raheem. real-life husband and wife ossie davis and ruby dee were friends of spike lee's father bill lee and were cast as mother sister and da mayor. rosie perez was cast as mookie's love interest tina after lee saw her dancing at a los angeles dance club. perez decided to take the part because her sister lived four blocks from the set; however, she had never been in a film before and grew upset during the filming of radio raheem's death scene.
do the right thing
"empire" gave the film 4 out of 5 stars with the verdict, "it's certainly a spike lee film, but no spike lee joint. still, he's delivered a pacy, vigorous and frequently masterful take on a well-worn genre. thanks to some slick lens work and a cast on cracking form, lee proves (perhaps above all to himself?) that playing it straight is not always a bad thing." wesley morris of "the boston globe" wrote, "the basic story is elemental, but because lee and gewirtz invest it with grit, comedy, and a ton of new york ethnic personality, it's fresh anyway." david ansen of "newsweek" commented, "as unexpected as some of its plot twists is the fact that this unapologetic genre movie was directed by spike lee, who has never sold himself as mr. entertainment. but here it is, a spike lee joint that's downright fun." giving the film a b+ rating, lisa schwarzbaum of "entertainment weekly" wrote, ""inside man" is a hybrid of studio action pic and spike lee joint. or else it's a cross between a 2006 spike lee joint and a 1970s-style movie indictment of urban unease."
inside man