LOL: Jimmy Kimmel Presents 'Do The Right Thing 2: Do The White Thing'
It's been 26 years since Spike Lee's provocative Do the Right Thing debuted, and since Hollywood has been digging deep into the past for sequels, reboots and remakes, it only makes sense that they would revive the racially charged drama.
However, in case you haven't noticed, Brooklyn has changed a lot since 1989. As Jimmy Kimmel noted during one of his episodes being taped in New York last week, "There used to be muggers right in this neighborhood stealing old ladies' purses. Now those old lady purses are being worn ironically by hipsters in the area." And that's exactly what inspired the trailer for Do the Right Thing 2, starring Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel and more white people.
Here's the trailer for Do the Right Thing 2: Do the White Thing from Jimmy Kimmel Live:
Racial tension, prejudice, fighting and rioting aren't at the center of Do the Right Thing 2, but trendier issues such as water conservation, full beards and gluten free pizza.
Whoever shot this funny short got the energetic camera movement and style just right, adding some credibility to the parody. And kudos to the creators for getting Rosie Perez to recreate that ice cube scene (with Crudup sitting in for Spike Lee as Mookie), as well as introducing us to Rami Malek (Mr. Robot) as Vinyl Raheem.
By the way, if this parody is going over your heads because you haven't seen Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (one of Jacob Hall's favorite movies of all time), then stop what you're doing and rent it as soon as possible. It's Spike Lee's best movie, and on a more serious note, it has a story that is sadly just as relevant today as it was back in 1989.
Thankfully, its relevance today doesn't really warrant a sequel being made, even though some pranksters have convinced some New Yorkers that one may be in production. For what it's worth, Red Hook Summer is a spiritual sequel to the movie, but it's just nowhere near as good as its predecessor.