Borrowing the tropes from classical Hollywood musicals, early exploitation cinema and the popularity of the college raunch comedy, Lee subverts the values of the dominant social ethics and reaches into the heart of artifice ripping...

| Jun 6, 2024

An often insightful, often amateurish comedy-drama-musical.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jan 1, 2024

A teeming showcase of invigorating performances...

| Mar 3, 2023

The problem isn’t with School Daze; the problem is with a white culture that cannot deal with the spectacle of blacks on-screen on their own terms.

| Original Score: 4/4 | May 11, 2022

There are some technical issues that Spike brings into films...I enjoyed the conversations that came from this movie...but as a standalone film, it was boring at times.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 8, 2020

What a great launching pad for a lot of different actors...it's a movie that gets the conversation going, and I really liked the musical scene.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Oct 8, 2020

Troubling, dated dramedy has violence, strong language.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Jul 29, 2020

The sexist language and images in the film are tedious and predictable.

| Aug 29, 2019

School Daze is a college musical comedy with a conscience; beneath the hijinks lies a bleeding heart for those suffering under apartheid in South Africa.

| Aug 26, 2019

In practice Lee doesn't quite handle this vertiginous tone switch.

| Mar 13, 2019

Everything about School Daze is frantic, and the energy is addictive.

| Nov 8, 2016

Skin tone is crucial to understanding School Daze's brazenness as a major-studio film.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Sep 7, 2015

A shapeless mess that falls far short of the high expectations created by Lee's first feature.

| Original Score: 1.5/4 | Sep 23, 2008

Some of the issues get lost in the mix, but strong performances by Lee and Fishburne make this a watchable and thought-provoking venture.

| Sep 23, 2008

The 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

| Original Score: C | Nov 29, 2006

Lee has a small, intimate talent; here, he goes for the big podium and blows it.

| Jun 24, 2006

The film's central argument is that black matriculation is undercut by internal divisions.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Feb 13, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Dec 28, 2004

An uneven but probably necessary stepping stone between "She's Gotta Have It" and "Do The Right Thing"

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 7, 2004

Uneven and a little dull, although the ending inspires.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Mar 10, 2004