Red Hook Summer

Spike Lee's RED HOOK SUMMER takes a little while to get started, and the performance of Jules Brown as the protagonist, Flik, is a bit hit-and-miss. But as his relationship with his grandfather Bishop Enoch (Clarke Peters, who's marvelous) develops--and a revelation about the Bishop is ultimately made--the film grows richer and richer, ending on a beautiful note. Funny, heartrending, and heartfelt, with a gorgeous score and Thomas Jefferson Byrd's stealing the scene as the great Deacon Zee.

I've never had much of a problem with Lee's meandering plots because usually his well-drawn characters drive his films through the necessary themes, but this only has two noteworthy characters: Peters' atoning preacher and his alcoholic assistant. These characters (especially the former) give the film the personality and energy it desperately needs to become a suitable examination of faith, corruption, redemption and innocence as juxtaposed with the young characters. Flawed but original.

Quite the uneven effort from Spike, the film takes a turn in the final third that illustrates this on a tonal level--what had been a relatively light jaunt through Red Hook suddenly turns into something much darker. The performances are up and down (though Clarke Peters is definitely on the good side of that ledger), the visual style seems haphazard, but the narrative--despite its own disjunctions--concludes in an appropriately complex fashion.

"The seamless juxtaposition of faith and pain, innocence and guilt, allows the film to transcend Spike Lee's occasional bombastic moments and become a strong examination of internal suffering." - Glenn Heath Jr.

Juxtaposes the innocence of childhood with the harsh twist. Fav scenes: the priest being confronted initially and then by the locals.

Seen in 2019

How appropriate that Mookie makes his return in Spike's late-career masterpiece. Whereas Do the Right Thing boldly sparked conversation from the forefront of the era's politics, Red Hook Summer develops a more measured perspective and lets Spike muse on a generation that's been left behind. The colorful cast of characters (Clarke Peters!!!) and vibrant lighting from Kerwin DeVonish really bring Brooklyn to life in a way that Spike arguably hasn't achieved since DTRT.

A contemporary and relevant coming-of-age drama that plays as if Spike is winging it as he goes. That's not necessarily bad, though many will be thrown off by a hairpin plot turn three quarters of the way through that seems totally unprepared for and is so startling that the movie never really recuperates. That could explain the erratic release of this little-seen film, but regardless, it is as self-generated and earnest as Spike seems to get anymore.

A shapeless mess. There are no memorable shots or characters except for the priest played amiably by Peters. The controversial 'twist' seems tenuously connected to the actual narrative, which is a vague coming of age story centered around a boy from the South spending a summer with his preacher grandfather who he hasn't met and doesn't know. What the film is lacking is a well developed third act; it ends just as it's getting started. But the structural problems are only the beginning.........

53.500

Who lets Spike Lee near a screenplay any more? From the people who brought you Miracle at St. Anna comes an even more meandering waste of good talent. Clarke Peters is amazing - to the point where he effectively highlights how terrible the acting is otherwise. The film wanders around, going nowhere - much of the first hour is a waste. Then the second hour zooms past, with a shoehorned plot twist and a messy resolution. Spike! Get a better writer! Please!

"Sheeeeeeiiit."

The result feels like a sketchbook, both in a good and bad sense; it's alive and spontaneous and surprising in some parts, underdeveloped and shapeless in others.

Awful acting from nearly the entire cast, and the writing doesn't help. Half the running time is excruciatingly boring preaching in a ghetto church. The rest makes very little sense and drags badly.