Red Hook Summer (2012)

67% of critics liked it
(12 reviews)
100% want to see it
(34 ratings)

The latest in Spike Lee's Chronicles of Brooklyn, Red Hook Summer tells the story of Flik Royale, a sullen young boy from middle-class Atlanta who has come to spend the summer with his deeply religious grandfather, Bishop Enoch Rouse, in the housing projects of Red Hook. Having never met before,… More The latest in Spike Lee's Chronicles of Brooklyn, Red Hook Summer tells the story of Flik Royale, a sullen young boy from middle-class Atlanta who has come to spend the summer with his deeply religious grandfather, Bishop Enoch Rouse, in the housing projects of Red Hook. Having never met before, things quickly get off on the wrong foot as Bishop Enoch relentlessly attempts to convert Flik into a follower of Jesus Christ. Between his grandfather's constant preaching and the culture shock of inner-city life, Flik's summer appears to be a total disaster--until he meets Chazz Morningstar, a pretty girl his age, who shows Flik the brighter side of Brooklyn. Through her love and the love of his grandfather, Flik begins to realize that the world is a lot bigger, and perhaps a lot better, than he'd ever imagined. -- (C) Variance

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 2 hr. 15 min.
Directed By: Spike Lee
Written By: Spike Lee
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Aug 10, 2012 Limited
Studio: Variance Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Debruge, Variety
Beneath every scene, powerful music enhances the film's resonance in much the same way its hyper-saturated colors do visually.
David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
Rambles through almost two hours of unfocused drama, burdened with endless didactic editorializing, before lurching out of nowhere into ugly revelations and violence.
Fred Topel, Crave Online
Crooklyn bored my teenage mind but now I can appreciate this sort of film. Now I'm so sick of plots I want to experience something different.
Chris Bumbray, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
This isn't a movie- it's a sermon. That said, the last twenty minutes are very interesting, and Clark Peters is excellent.
Kimberly Gadette, Doddle
Career missteps will happen; it comes with the territory. But this particular Red Hook territory is such a wasteland that we have to check twice to confirm that this drivel actually belongs to Lee.
Ray Greene, Boxoffice Magazine
It's a film that makes you laugh, weep, rage and gasp, and, love it or hate it, you will definitely talk about it afterward.
Nathan Rabin, AV Club
Red Hook Summer oscillates between extremes: it's borderline amateurish one moment and heartbreaking the next, a god-fearing and god-forsaken mess that could only have come from Lee, whose strengths have always been inextricable from his weaknesses.
Damon Wise, Guardian [UK]
It is so wilfully off the scale that it is hard to know quite how to quantify it.
Todd Gilchrist, The Playlist
"Red Hook Summer" is not just Spike Lee's most authentically "Spike Lee" film in more than a decade, but a remarkable display of a filmmaker reconnecting with his artistic voice.