This is what Spike does best: capturing a moment in time, and looking deeply into the human condition. Ignore those whining that it's "not about the Son of Sam." Yeah. That's why it's not _called_ "Son of Sam". What it is, is an extremely well-done vignette of New York City, and the world in general, in 1977 -- a period when "Sam Hysteria" gripped that city, and the rest of us watched obsessively from afar. Along the way Spike gives us another "Sam": a man with a sexual compulsion he can't control, complete with the pseudo-religious angst typical of such personalities. This is a fantastic technique. I won't spoil anything for other viewers, but you'll see how Spike juxtaposes these two characters in the film. Other classic Spike themes are here: bigotry, intolerance, hatred of anybody different, the universality of all of this regardless of "race" or community, the stupid callowness of youth, the dumb brutality of the uneducated, and the quiet existence of fundamentally decent people in the midst of it all. For those complaining about the Plato's Retreat scene, welcome to the 70s, mofo. Sex was invented in the 1970s; we were sure of it. I'm not saying everybody (or even many) did that Plato stuff, but we were told everybody was doing it. And one thing is certain: everybody was talking about it. Everybody. All the time. So it was part of the era. It would have been a serious oversight not to include it in a film that purports to capture the feel of that city at that time. If you remember the media furor over those killings; the saturation-covered moral and physical rot of NYC in the 70s; and the golden age of KC and the Sunshine Band, this movie will be a visit home. And if you like complex, unflinching, insightful films, you just might learn something.

It's the Bronx summer of 1977 and the Son of Sam serial killer is on the loose. After a night of disco dancing, hair dresser Vinny (John Leguizamo) and his wife Dionna (Mira Sorvino) encounter the latest victims. Even the mob is enlisted in the search for the killer. Women are changing their hair and people are avoiding public places. Vinny's friend Richie (Adrien Brody) has become a British punk rocker and an outcast in the neighborhood. Vinny's half-sister Ruby (Jennifer Esposito) accepts Richie's changes. The movie also follows David Berkowitz (Michael Badalucco) aka the .44 Caliber Killer. As the pressure mounts, suspicions land on Richie.Spike Lee is tapping into his inner Scorsese. This is a costume drama movie with good style. It has the terrific atmosphere. However the story feels scattered. The movie really needs more focus. Actually the lead should have been Richie rather than Vinny. Also Berkowitz should be left out since the movie is never about catching him. It's an interesting move by Spike Lee but it's a slight miss.

Summer of Sam has a couple different meanings. It's not quite Son of Sam, the nickname of the serial killer the movie is ostensibly about. It's also an abbreviation for SOS, as in mayday. These are on purpose. Spike Lee centers a movie about paranoia, changing times, metaphorical dog collars, war, post trauma, stress, sexual revolutions, disco vs punk and scapegoats into one electric, charged, throbbing explosion of a movie. It's a bit indulgent, maybe doesn't completely add up, and isn't quite perfect in its period detail (enough about this particular punk scene being a year or two off, this is art!).The film revolves around these murders because they represent another movement in American history. One in which the hangover from Vietnam is finally fading, and what's left is the feeling that we have been used and abused. Like dogs, wearing the collar. Adrien Brody's punk rocker represents this rebellion against the collar, against the causeless wars and manipulation. Punk, gay and uninterested in conformity. John Leguizamo (with a performance that questions how he never quite became the star he should have been), still wears the collar, refuses to treat his wife properly and sleeps around. He treats her as an object to be on a pedestal, not one to be shamed and used like all those other "free love" types.This PTSD serial killer is hearing orders from a dog wearing its collar (literally, in one of a couple surreal sequences that clearly establish this film as metaphor and fever dream), just like Nam' and he can't stop killing. So blame the punks, the gays, the unorthodox priests, anyone but the master. You gotta fight the powers that be.

If you like movies about New York, you will love Summer of Sam and it's look at Italian-Americans in the Bronx in the Summer of '77.If you like movies that focus on the characters, rather than the events, then this is a must-see movie, as the reaction of these people to the events of that summer - the soaring heat and a crazy killer who gets his messages from a dog -- is priceless.Forget the killer in the title. He is only a backdrop to the story and is no more important that the heat. What this film is really about is the reaction of these people to a Summer of fear.I love John Leguizamo (Sueño, Land of the Dead, Collateral Damage) and in all the movies I have watched with him, this is his best performance. He is friends with Adrian Brody (Sueño, The Pianist, King Kong), who is, shall we say, a little strange as a punk guitarist who makes gay porn on the side. Friendship give way to peer pressure after he wife (Mira Sorvino) leaves him, and he turns on his friend as a suspect. It really shows how being different automatically makes you feared.The film has a lot a native New Yorkers and some of my favorites, so it really is watchable. In fact, I'll give Spike Lee's treasure another turn to see what I missed.Look for Jennifer Esposito, Michael Rispoli, Bebe Neuwirth, Anthony LaPaglia, and Ben Gazzara in this great cast.Skintastic Moment: Nice shots of Patti LuPone's breasts as she fools around with hubby on the couch.