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Summer of Sam, 1999, 142 minutes, Rated R
By Ramona Prioleau
Where were you when the lights went out in New York City? While I can't profess
to making love, I have vivid memories of an interrupted episode of Baretta, a
sweltering Bronx apartment and an unusual sense of fear. Unusual because for the first
time the boogey man had a name and it was the Son of Sam. The fact that I didn't fit the
profile of Sam's victims didn't matter. I was very afraid and I wept for the victims.
Thus, I approached Summer of Sam, Spike Lee's 12th joint in 13 years, with some
trepidation.
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However, my fears were misplaced because Summer doesn't center on
David Berkowitz's killing spree. Instead, the film (written by Victor
Colicchio, Michael
Imperioli and Lee) pieces together certain events during the summer of 1977 to form a
patchwork story quilt. The .44-caliber killer is simply one of the many swatches of fabric
to this crazy quilt - the blood red swatch added to give the quilt its horrific pizzazz.
Just when you think the film is steadily spinning its tale - BOOYAH - Sam appears and
strikes terror into the hearts and minds of New Yorkers. This pallor of terror and its
impact on a working class Italian American neighborhood in the Bronx sets the tone for Summer.
Summer features John Leguizamo in an excellent
performance as Vinny - a combination of Welcome Back Kotter's Vinnie
Barbarino, Shampoo's
George Roundy and Saturday Night Fever's Tony Manero on drugs. The disco dancing,
wife-cheating hairdresser avoids Berkowitz's wrath by a stroke of good luck. Deeply
affected by his narrow escape, Vinny contemplates mending his cheating ways. But, the
temptations of the flesh are too great and his will isn't strong enough to effect true
metamorphosis.
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David Lee/Touchstone
Adrien
Brody and John Leguizamo in Summer of Sam
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Change, however, isn't a problem for Vinny's friend, Ritchie (wonderfully played by Adrien
Brody), who returns to his neighborhood with a Cockney accent and dressed in full punk
rock regalia. While Ritchie's punk affectation and sexual activity affront his intolerant
street pals, Vinny's macho yet non-threatening image is broadly embraced. Despite their
differences, Vinny and Ritchie are buddies who attempt to understand each other. But when
Sam's specter pervades the neighborhood, friendship is discarded and vigilantism prevails
proving that mob justice is often injustice.
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In Summer, Lee surveys the best and worst of the summer of 1977 by
focusing his
lens on one man, one neighborhood and their relationship to several significant events of
the time - the Yankees, punk, disco, sexual excess, blackout, Sam, etc. Lee uses clever
visual effects, multiple story lines, diverse film footage and a slamming soundtrack. In
scenes that capture street corner dialogue and the paranoia and hysteria that Sam
engendered, Lee is at his best. Yet, even with noteworthy performances from Summer's
featured actors, the main characters aren't sufficiently engaging. For the most part, the
characters' stories fail to tug on any heartstrings or spark enduring intellectual
interest. Although, at times, Summer sizzles, its heat quickly cools.
M
July 1999
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