Taglines: It was a time they’d never forget.
Summer of Sam movie storyline. It is the summer of 1977, and New York City lives in fear of the “.44 Caliber Killer”, who shoots young women and their male companions. The killer, David Berkowitz, later identifies himself as “Son of Sam” in a note left at a murder scene. Berkowitz lives in a messy apartment, where he is driven crazy by the barking of a neighbor’s large black dog and has a vision of the dog directing him to kill.
In an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, hairdresser Vinny and his pretty wife Dionna go disco dancing at a local nightclub, where they meet Dionna’s attractive cousin Chiara. Vinny offers to drive Chiara home while Dionna remains at the club. Vinny and Chiara then park on a residential street and have sex in the car.
Son of Sam watches them, but he is scared off when the couple accidentally set off the car horn during sex and, embarrassed, quickly drive away. After they leave, Son of Sam kills another couple who had parked behind Vinny. When Vinny picks up Dionna back at the club, she notices the smell of vaginal lubrication on his face and realizes he had sex with Chiara, but does not let on that she knows.
On the drive home, Vinny notices police near the location where he had parked with Chiara, and sees the dead bodies of the slain couple. The religious and guilty Vinny, realizing he could have been a victim, decides that God spared him in order to give him a chance to reform his ways and stop cheating on his wife. Although Vinny loves Dionna, their sex life is suffering because Vinny enjoys anal sex, “69” and other sex acts that he considers kinky, but he cannot bring himself to discuss or perform these acts with a wife. He is also having an affair with Gloria, the owner of the hair salon where he works.
The next day, while Vinny is hanging out with neighborhood drug dealer Joey T and his friends, Vinny’s old friend Ritchie, who has been away for some time, suddenly reappears, sporting a punk spiked hairdo and clothing and affecting a British accent. Vinny, Joey T, and the others dislike the change in Ritchie, and he soon finds himself unwelcome in the neighborhood.
However, Ruby, a promiscuous local girl, is attracted to Ritchie, and the two begin a relationship. Unlike other men, Ritchie takes an interest in Ruby as a person, not just as a sexual outlet. She learns that he makes money by erotic dancing and prostituting himself at a gay theater, but remains loyal to him and over time begins to dress in punk fashion herself.
As the Son of Sam killings continue, tension rises in the neighborhood. A police detective from the neighborhood asks the local mob boss to help him find the killer; Joey T and his friends also make a list of possible suspects, including Ritchie whom they regard as “a freak”. Ritchie and Ruby invite Vinny and Dionna to come see their punk band perform at CBGB, but once there, Dionna feels intimidated by the punk crowd and refuses to go in.
Vinny and Dionna instead go to Studio 54, where they are denied entry, and finally end up at Plato’s Retreat where they take drugs and participate in an orgy. Vinny becomes upset when he sees Dionna appearing to enjoy the experience of having sex with another man, even though he himself is having sex with other women. He berates Dionna in the car on the way home, causing her to get mad and reveal that she knows he cheated on her with Chiara. She storms off to stay at her father’s house. Vinny begins to drink and use drugs heavily, and makes a scene at Gloria’s hair salon, causing her to angrily throw him out and then inform Dionna about their affair. Upon hearing from Gloria, Dionna leaves Vinny for good.
Summer of Sam is a 1999 American crime thriller film about the 1977 Son of Sam serial murders and their effect on a group of fictional residents of an Italian-American neighborhood in The Bronx. Although the killer David Berkowitz, his murders, and the investigation are shown in the film, the main focus is on two young men from the neighborhood:
Vinny (John Leguizamo), whose marriage is faltering due to his cheating, and Ritchie (Adrien Brody), Vinny’s childhood friend who has embraced punk fashion and music. The murder investigation and other contemporary events, such as the New York City blackout of 1977 and the New York Yankees’ winning season, provide a backdrop to the stories of Vinny, Ritchie, and their families and friends. The film was directed and co-produced by Spike Lee, who also co-wrote the film with Michael Imperioli and Victor Colicchio.
Summer of Sam (1999)
Directed by: Spike Lee
Starring: John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino, Jennifer Esposito, Anthony LaPaglia, Bebe Neuwirth, Ken Garito, Brian Tarantina, Patti LuPone
Screenplay by: Victor Colicchio, Michael Imperioli, Spike Lee
Production Design by: Thérèse DePrez
Cinematography by: Ellen Kuras
Film Editing by: Barry Alexander Brown
Costume Design by: Ruth E. Carter
Set Decoration by: Diane Lederman
Art Direction by: Nicholas Lundy
Music by: Terence Blanchard
MPAA Rating: R for strong graphic violence and sexuality, pervasive strong language and drug use.
Distributed by: Buena Vista Pictures
Release Date: July 2, 1999
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