Really Bad... - Summer of Sam (1999) Discussion

[–] youresomoney 15 years ago

This film has its flaws, but did you ever think maybe you were disappointed because you went into it with expectations? It most definitely is not a "crime solving" type story, its clear from the beginning of the film who did it, how it happened, and if you know anything about the history surrounding the real life events it is clear how the film will end.

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

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[–] jbakereva 15 years ago

I actually think the main characters were sympathetic. I felt for Mira Sorvino's character and even the male lead (Forget the character's name and can't spell Leguizamo?). His actions were obviously not the best, but you see him struggling to do the right thing throughout even though he failed. If he just cheated and there was no internal struggle, then I probably would have called him unsympathetic.

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[–] youresomoney 15 years ago

Yup, Leguizamo, you got it right hah. But yeah, i've seen this movie many times and it took my last time watching it to really realize how kind of messed up Vinny (leguizamo) really was. I find it kind of admirable that although he was a sexual deviant, he wanted to keep that out of his married life because he didn't want his wife to be like one of those other whores.

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.

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[–] hump3 15 years ago

This was a period-piece about New York in 1977 - punk, disco freaks, junkies, gangsters & cops. It was never meant to be Law & Order SVU.

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[–] wraggio 15 years ago

hump3 said it best. It had a fictional story surrounded by a non-fictional basis. I want to like it so much but it's a love it or hate it type of film.

The part that annoys me, and it's been repeated a lot here, is how Spike Lee has a hard-on for stereotyping the Italians. In the very beginning when one of the neighborhood guys goes "You look like a piece of mozzarella" I just rolled my eyes. It's a good little story as long as you can ignore some of that crap.

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[–] AlrightGuy 15 years ago

If this movie accomplished anything, it just solidified my lack of desire to ever go to New York City. Or to see any more Spike Lee movies. I don't get why he's so revered. Maybe Miracle at St Anna's will be better, since it finally gets him out of Brooklyn for a little while.

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[–] tanya1976 15 years ago

He portrays a certain group of Italians, not all (i.e., "Guidos"). If you are bothered by this, are you bothered by movie portrayals of other groups? Or, do you ignore them because these portrayals don't concern you?

The truth of the matter is that this subset exists. But, they don't represent the entire group.

I must warn you. I'm very susceptible to flattery.

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[–] tommix42 15 years ago

most Italian Americans are NOTHING like this.

My Italian American grandfather was actually named Guido, the poor guy. His parents were very poor, and he ended up working in a dry cleaning business for his whole working life, working with dangerous chemicals until he got cancer and died in his 50s. But he always tried to support his family, and he valued education (at least for his male children... okay, he had his flaws). He probably did keep up a certain amount of macho behavior, as a front, but... at home, he had a little room behind the living room, where he had an antique work bench, and he would make incredibly elaborate creations (animals, trees, Christmas Nativity scenes, etc) out of stained glass and wire. They were all over the house, everywhere. I still have one today, next to my computer, even though he passed away back in 1972. He had the soul of an artist.

One of my earliest memories of him is when I was about 4 years old, he gave me a whole bunch of cool little plastic dinosaurs. I was so excited to learn all their scientific names, and learn about biology and fossils. He was a good man to introduce me to this world of knowledge.

I really believe that most Italian Americans are COMPLETELY unlike the people in this movie. They're regular Americans, just like everyone else, with the exception that they are better cooks.

"We've got a bump coming up." -- Jason Bourne, just before driving down a stairway

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[–] kerrydragon 15 years ago

I like crime dramas and this certainly wasn't what I expected.I left the movie on,but read through parts of it,since I did not like the characters.What a loud,uncouth,angry bunch of egomaniacs.Over dramatized,I found it all unreal to the point of disinterest.The movie was also about an hour too long.

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[–] 15 years ago

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[–] Nostradamus01 15 years ago

I'd like to see you same Italians complain about the way Italians are portrayed in Soprano's and in Scorsese's movies.

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[–] wraggio 14 years ago

I don't mind it in the Sopranos or Scorsese films. I'm Italian but I'm not going to go around saying they should be depicted this way or that. It's a film and I think everyone over the age of 10 realizes it's fiction and a story. It was just so hacky and overly stereotypical in the way what's-his-name's character said "mozzarella" that made me roll my eyes.

WHATTSA MATTAH? YOU LOOK LIKAH PIECE OF MOTZARELLE!" Yuck. If I heard someone say that in real life I'd roll my eyes even harder and call him a douche.

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[–] deadbunny28 13 years ago

they are also portrayed like that in Goodfellas, Mean Streets, A Bronx Tale and many others and Scorcese and Di Nero are actually Italian...

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[–] Fear-NoEvil 14 years ago

Not that bad

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[–] soundwave5 14 years ago

A murder mystery really wouldn't make much sense anyway since this is based on a pretty well known historical event so anyone from the 70s or with knowledge of that period would know who the killer is.

Making it more of an ensemble piece about various different characters during one crazy summer is what the film is about and it's better for it IMO.

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[–] 14 years ago

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[–] samsan_lee 12 years ago

Great film, and an underrated one. Excellent use of the music and the tension of summer heat, emotions between lovers and friends in a fateful summer in which the Yankees were the World Champions and the Son of Sam was finally caught.

Many researchers felt that Sam Berkowitz attempted to warn people of a cult of satanic killers and that Henry Lee Lucas and the Zodiac were a part of a continuation of serial killings that began with the 68 Manson Murders.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] rban321 10 years ago

Lee should have titled in Summer of 77 then.

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[–] pgooden 9 years ago

I just watched this for the first time and I am struggling with it, trying to wade through it to the end, to see if they catch SOS in this version.
The only other comment I have is that they must have had a good sock budget.

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[–] 9 years ago

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[–] jaseace 8 years ago

This movie was bad . I already went into alot of detail on another thread but this is one of spikes worst movies in my opinion.

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[–] MovieMinx67 8 years ago

It's a good film.

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[–] candieland-98360 7 years ago

WHATTSA MATTAH? YOU LOOK LIKAH PIECE OF MOTZARELLE!"

Lol this cracked me up. If you can take the flaws i think its one hell of an entertaining movie immensely rewatchable

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