‘She’s Gotta Have It’ On Netflix: Finally, A Remake We Can Use!

Spike Lee’s 1986 film She’s Gotta Have It is one of few properties that actually deserves a 2017 reboot. The film about a Brooklynite artist who dates and sleeps with three very different men (and a lady) was Sex and the City and Insecure decades before those shows came to be. Needless to say, the She’s Gotta Have It series could not have arrived at a better time.

DeWanda Wise fills the paint-stained overalls of Nola Darling, a millennial, yes, but one that’s much more confident than we typically see these days. She knows she wants to be an artist, she knows she doesn’t want to settle down with one person, and she knows she wants to do whatever it damn well is that she’s in the mood to do that day. Wise brings a bit more vulnerability than we saw with Tracy Camilla Johns’ original Nola Darling, which can probably be credited to the era more than anything.

The first episode will look awfully familiar to anyone who’s seen the original film (which can also be found on Netflix), only in color and with 2017 references like K2 and Kanye West sprinkled throughout. But we meet Nola — in her dream of a Fort Greene, Brooklyn apartment — with a straight to camera monologue, one of many she and other characters in the show employ, Zack Morris-style, throughout the series. Part homage to the film, part establishing the world of Nola Darling, the first episode takes the deepest themes of what the film was exploring and brings them into the modern world, complete with septum piercings and bralettes. The infamous, and now all too relevant, catcalling scene, where a bunch of Brooklyn bros try out their best one-liners, keeps the eye-rolling spirit of the originals, and even partially serves as a catalyst for Nola’s anger and inspiration throughout the rest of the series.

She uses this in her art, standing up for women everywhere who refuse to be subjected to sexual harassment, for declaring Black Lives Matter, and even for painting her muses, from friends to lovers — and yes, sometimes those lines can be blurred. There are the typical types: Jamie Overstreet (Lyriq Bent), the technically separated mature, rich man with his shit together, Greer (Cleo Anthony), the man who’s much more into his own body than she is, and Mars, with Hamilton’s Anthony Ramos stepping into the amusing bike messenger shoes Spike Lee himself filled in the original. If you’re going to be crushing on one of the guys, this is the one, for sure. Mars’ charisma proves to be much more useful here than Jamie’s reliability or Greer’s hotness.

She’s Gotta Have It remains unapologetically Spike Lee, but it also serves as a bit of a time capsule of Brooklyn 2017. From the gentrification to the fashion, Wise brings the right amount of modernity and authenticity to Nola, instantly cementing her as #goals. She’s not phased by her drive or her sexuality and she’s not going to let anyone else get in the way of either. The show is an enjoyable watch, but there’s also no shortage of topics ripe for brunch and the blogs.

Watching the original film is a reminder of how much slower life moved back then, and it’s reflected on-screen. The remake moves quicker for sure, but isn’t pandering to ADD-audiences, watching almost like a play rather than a quick-cutting modern show, and still taking its time with its storytelling. Future episodes in the series explore Nola’s bisexuality, her ambition, and all the judgment and comments that come along with wearing a Little Black Dress.

One of the biggest achievements the series can surely boast is its soundtrack. From Solange to Sinatra, the music perfectly encapsulates these characters and the world they inhabit. That the show also briefly flashes images of the artists’ album covers, rendering Shazam useless during your viewing, is an appreciated and helpful bonus. Fans of the original are sure to appreciate the remake, and the remake in turn will draw new eyes to the classic film. But the real triumph of She’s Gotta Have It, is that finally we’ve found an update to a property that was made not just with the intention of box office bucks, but with poise and purpose, and even a bit of pleasure.

Where to watch She's Gotta Have It