Shorty: Yeah I’m gonna fill that little belly of yours with black power!

One of the more humorous aspects of “Hot Summer in the City” is the presumption that it’s an actual movie because its book ended by “Summer in the City” by Lovin’ Spoonful. Not only does the song have nothing to do with the actual movie, but director Gail Palmer seems to just have bought the rights to play it at the beginning and end of her movie to add some sense of credibility trying to eagerly convince us that there’s a serious plot here, instead of just a hint of a narrative in between all of the rough sex and rape. In all honesty, it’s just a hardcore porno with dashes of story here and there and some wildly cartoonish Caucasian protagonists and African American villains. And there's a lot of rape, too. Poor white chick gets raped by black dudes. That's the plot.
While some may be quick to compare it to “The Last House on the Left,” there’s not a lot of revenge to be had, even if there’s plenty of sexual violence. The film is disgusting and vile, I won’t deny that, but it’s not without its value. It’s really just fifty minutes of a sexy white woman being ravaged by evil Black men endlessly, and there’s also a rather fantastic soundtrack featuring the Shangri-Las, The Beach Boys, and The Supremes. Sexy Lisa Baker plays Debby, an inept young woman waiting to be married before sex.

Upon arriving home from a date, she finds her mom in bed with two other men. Shocked (especially considering she stood there for fifteen minutes watching) and non-confrontational, she decides to go for a walk to cool off (makes sense…?) and in a stunned state of mind is greeted by a small group of aggressive minorities who decide to kidnap her and corrupt every inch of her
body because… she’s a honky bitch and they’re jive niggas. That’s reasonable. The four black men rough up poor Debby and get her drunk and just take turns having sex with her against her will. Playboy Playmate Baker is a very sexy young girl with a performance reliant mainly on being a vulnerable sex object, made into fact considering she gives one of the most inept performances I’ve ever seen in movie.

Baker is incapable of providing even the minutest of emotions for her character. She can’t even cry properly when she reacts to her mom’s threesome, and her misery is not as terrible since she can’t even seem to convince herself that she’s in excruciating pain. There’s not even an explanation why walking in on a threesome would bring her to the verge of an emotional breakdown. In a twisted bit of clever (I use the term loosely) irony, the group of men don’t just turn her into a hostage, but she also becomes a cook, a maid, a confidante, and a sex toy. In other words, a slave; Poetic irony, bitches! Director Palmer at times doesn’t even seem to know what the hell she’s doing with erratic pans, goofy edits, and sloppiness for staging basic scenes. There’s also the inherent lack of tension in Debby’s predicament made worse by Baker who stands around pouting like a child, while the male actors aren’t convincing enough as villains. Palmer can’t even decide what the point of her movie is. Is poor Debby in the middle of a gang war, a victim, or is she just being toyed with? And why does Palmer place immense focus on a poker game between the four thugs? There’s no use getting your panties in a bind, as “Hot Summer in the City” is not much of a thriller to be offended towards considering the production is so horrific to watch.

Taking into account the small budget “Hot Summer in the City” is a movie that’s so bad, it’s good. From terrible direction, even worse performances, and a plot that’s pretty much non-existent, it’s a crappy piece of sexploitation you may want to get a hold of, if only for the groovy soundtrack. No Tarantino, this is not the Best Porno Ever.