A pedestrian-looking mishmash of a movie!
Summer of Sam (1999)
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Reviews Counted:96
Fresh:48
Rotten:48
Average Rating:5.6/10
Consensus: Spike Lee offers intense visuals but his storytelling feels crowded and overambitious.
Runtime: 2 hrs 22 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: SUMMER OF SAM, Spike Lee's sizzling interpretation of the summer of 1977 in New York City, when thermometers shattered and a serial killer terrorized the city, focuses on an Italian-American... SUMMER OF SAM, Spike Lee's sizzling interpretation of the summer of 1977 in New York City, when thermometers shattered and a serial killer terrorized the city, focuses on an Italian-American community in the Bronx--specifically, Dionna (Mira Sorvino) and Vinny (John Leguizamo), a couple whose marriage is threatened by Vinny's obsession with other women. After Vinny returns home one night to find a killer has murdered two local women, he promises to mend his cheating ways, albeit unsuccessfully. As the media exploits the murders and a blackout threatens to unleash anarchy on the city, its inhabitants begin to look for a scapegoat who will release them from the reign of terror created by the chilling figure known only as the Son of Sam (Michael Badalucco). Lee's ambitious film does more than re-create the events that unfolded during the summer of 1977; in addition to being an entertaining time capsule, it also deals graphically with the concept of the mob mentality. [More]
Starring: John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Esposito
Starring: John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Jennifer Esposito, Michael Badalucco, Bebe Neuwirth, Patti LuPone, Anthony LaPaglia, Ben Gazzara, John Savage, Jimmy Breslin, Spike Lee, Mark Breland, Evander Holyfield
Director: Spike Lee
Director: Spike Lee
Screenwriter: Michael Imperioli, Victor Colicchio, Spike Lee
Producer: Jon Kilik, Spike Lee
Composer: Terence Blanchard
Reviews for Summer of Sam
Summer of Sam has a genuinely operatic sweep, as Lee succeeds in capturing the madness and dark humor of what, even by New York standards, was a bizarre summer.
Lee is a great filmmaker, often exhibiting kinetic visual flair on par with Brian DePalma and Martin Scorsese and a storytelling ability comparable to Steven Spielberg. But here, he gets himself into a bind.
Even with the slick cinematography and pulsating rock soundtrack, the final product is a big disappointment.
With loud music and upfront posturing, it makes for an entertaining, powerful experience at the movies.
The script, by Lee, Victor Colicchio and Michael Imperioli, is tighter than those for other Lee movies, but it's still too long and too broad.
Lee's ensemble cast does uniformly fine work, with the often underused Leguizamo as a tremendous standout.
If Lee could swap background with foreground, this would be a sensational film.
Makes you want to go home and shower with some sort of antiseptic cleanser instead of marvel over its artistic merits.
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