SUMMER OF SAM no stars

Something of a misfire. Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam" isn't a total dog but it comes close and is full of missed opportunities. Like the much better "Do the Right Thing"
it tries to balance several stories and isn't directly concerned with the killer or indeed the killings but with a disparate group of people living in the New York borough where the killings took place. The fact that none of these people are remotely interesting is certainly problematic; they are, for the most part, dull caricatures and an outstanding cast, (John Leguizamo, Mira Sorvino, Adrien Brody, Ben Gazzara, Patti LuPone, Anthony LaPaglia, Bebe Neuwirth), are largely wasted. Only Brody's bisexual punk emerges with any credit. A tighter script might have helped. The film wasn't really a success and it's easy to see why.