She Hate Me

John Henry "Jack" Armstrong is a financially successful and upwardly mobile executive at a biotechnology firm who, following the suicide of a colleague, Dr. Herman Schiller, is falsely accused of securities fraud by his superior, Leland Powell. Armstrong's assets are frozen, and he finds himself unable to maintain his quality of life. In order to make ends meet, he becomes a sperm donor, initially by acquiescing to the desires of Fatima Goodrich, his ex-fiancée who came out as a lesbian and now wants a child. There is still unresolved bitterness and tension between them over Armstrong and Goodrich's prior relationship, as before coming out, Armstrong discovered her cheating on him with another woman. Goodrich and her girlfriend, Alex Guerrero, offer Armstrong a substantial sum of money to impregnate them both. This leads to Goodrich goading Armstrong into establishing a business in which groups of lesbians come over to his house and pay him $10,000 each to have sex with them in order to become pregnant. This business becomes a success, along with many of the women enjoying the intercourse with him. One of the women whom Armstrong impregnates is the daughter of a mafia boss, Don Angelo Bonasera. Armstrong's employers learn of his impregnation business, and they use it in their campaign to sully his image in order to deflect attention from their own criminal business activities. Conflict is also depicted in the turbulent relationship between Armstrong's mother and his dependent diabetic father. Armstrong's situation is portrayed as a cause célèbre, with protests being held in support of or against him, and the news media interviewing people on the street with respect to his sexual activities. Armstrong is called before a committee of the United States Senate investigating his alleged securities fraud, where both his services to lesbians and his relationship to the "Bonasera crime family" are raised. Armstrong's situation is compared, to the plight of Frank Wills, the security guard who discovered the break-in that led to the Watergate scandal, which brought down President Nixon. He eventually wins the case and is seen with nineteen of the children he helped conceive. Powell, meanwhile, is eventually arrested for his crimes. Armstrong and Goodrich come to terms with their lingering feelings for one another, and with the mutual attraction they share for Guerrero. They then begin a three-way polyamorous relationship, and Armstrong apparently maintains a friendship with all of the eighteen women who became pregnant by him. ==Cast==

Spike Lee based the title of the film on XFL football player Rod Smart, who gained some notoriety by nicknaming himself "He Hate Me". The main character in the film references Smart when explaining why he has decided to nickname his ex-fiancée "She Hate Me". Taormino put Lee through "lesbian boot camp", in which she taught him about lesbian life through books, visits to lesbian bars, and panel discussions. The film featured a close-up scene of a real human birth, similarly to Lee's 1990 film ''Mo' Better Blues''. Raul Midon sang the theme song for the movie, "Adam 'N' Eve 'N' Eve". In the film, Armstrong's brother disapproves of his impregnating lesbians and also uses the phrase "Adam 'N' Eve 'N' Eve. ==Reception==

Box office The film grossed a total of $1,522,377 at the box office. Critical response She Hate Me received a sharply negative reaction from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 20% based on 102 reviews, with an average score of 4.10/10. The site's critic consensus reads, "She Hate Me can't decide if it wants to be a commentary on corporate greed or a sex farce". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 30 out of 100 based on 37 reviews, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews". Many of the criticisms were focused on the film's messaging and the excesses of the plot. Roger Ebert noted, "She Hate Me contains enough for five movies, but has no idea which of those movies it wants to be. Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe opined, "the movie is rude and ridiculous, fearless up to a point, and breathtakingly hungry to provoke", but it "struggles between the audaciousness of its premise and an underlying defensiveness. The title...sounds like a jokey rebuke to people who've called Lee a misogynist. Yet when Lee tries to sober up She Hate Me with apology, to stitch a heart on its sleeve, the movie feels untrue to itself." The film also generated controversy for its depiction of lesbian women and for portraying them as wanting to have sex with a man for procreative purposes. Trinidadian poet Erica Doyle commented that at the film's center is "an extensive male fantasy of having sex with lots of women — women who are usually inaccessible to most men." and Scott Foundas of Variety lauded it as "a scabrous, provocative and often funny social satire" with praise for the film's ensemble cast. Roger Ebert was also one of the few critics to give a positive review, awarding it three stars out of four. Ebert argued Lee knows the lesbian plot line is absurd, but uses it to "confront the pious liberal horror about such concepts as the inexhaustible black stud." Liam Carroll of The Spool posited that in making Jack an object available for women, Lee is "perhaps...trying to turn the objectification of women on its head: Jack often strips for his clients, who woo and scream and goad him on...Or perhaps Lee is commenting on the hoary old stereotype of the black male's alleged potent sexual virility. Problem is, this all falls apart when you bring in the lesbian factor. If these were straight women ogling Jack and using him as a mere sperm bank, then that would be one thing, but making these women lesbians feels nonsensical at best, and reductive at worst." Carroll concluded the themes of corporate greed and sexual mores were more effectively explored in Lee's previous works. Award nominations • BET Comedy Awards • Outstanding Directing for a Theatrical Film (Spike Lee) • Outstanding Writing for a Theatrical Film (Michael Genet and Spike Lee) • Black Reel Awards • Best Breakthrough Performance (Anthony Mackie) • Best Director (Spike Lee) • Best Original Score (Terence Blanchard) • Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted (Michael Genet and Spike Lee) ==References==