NFL
By: Matt Overton
The Twelfth Joint
Summer of Sam is one strange picture. It purports to be a true crime film about the Son of Sam murders that took place in New York City during the summer of ‘77, but that is only one plot line in this stuffed 142-minute production. Some of the other subplots include Adrien Brody as a wannabe British rockstar, John Leguizamo’s infidelity, and the Italian mob’s involvement in the community. Each of these plots have so many layers and detours that, amazingly, this movie comes together at all, but it comes off as confused and unfocused.
Vinny is driving home from a date with his wife when he sees two of the .44 Killer’s victims; he’s rightfully shaken, and becomes more and more paranoid that the killer saw his face, thinking he is next on his kill list. Adding to his anxiety is his worsening cheating problem—the man is incapable of keeping it in his pants. When his childhood friend Ritchie comes home with a spiky, punk rock haircut and a faux British accent, it only compounds the feeling of a confused and frightening summer.
As Vinny grapples with his paranoia, he seeks solace in the local drug dealer’s entourage. The Italian goons make matters worse with their incessant jokes and teasing, plus they’re constantly terrorizing any minority that walks across their street. Summer of Sam does not depict these Italian-Americans very positively, but with the over-the-top accents and performances, I’m led to believe Spike knew what he was doing and was adding a bit of satire to his true crime/romance/thriller/drug film.
Watching Summer of Sam proved to be an interesting experience. I expected to watch Spike Lee tackle the murder/mystery genre, but what I didn’t expect was all the sex I was going to get with it, too. A lot of reviews point out all the connections this has with Boogie Nights. Summer of Sam features a lot of the same licensed music, plus the song “Boogie Nights” by Heatwave. It probably has almost as much sex, too. Ritchie’s subplot includes him messing around at a gay strip club a lot, plus mentions of him doing porno. Believe me, a lot is going on in this film.
What a strange picture Summer of Sam turned out to be. It’s hard to pin down how I feel about it because Spike’s vision is so disorienting. The finished product is enjoyable because it tells a great story about a poor schmuck getting mixed up in drama he shouldn’t, but there are a lot of distractions that create an unnecessarily long runtime. The performances are all over the place, but all fun in their own ways. I’ve also decided I enjoy Spike’s cameos more than his leading/supporting roles. It’s so fun to randomly catch him in a scene. Amusingly, as the TV reporter, he always seemed like he was trying to hold back laughter.
