2009’s “Big Fan” is a film that flew under the radar after it premiered to positive reviews at the Sundance Film Festival. However, since then the film’s writer-director Robert Siegel has been busy penning the scripts for films like 2016’s “The Founder.” On top of that he is also responsible for the script for 2008’s incredible “The Wrestler.” And now, Siegel is back behind the camera, as writer-director of his second feature film, “Cruise.”
In the first trailer for the film, we get a fairly common premise. A guy from the wrong side of the tracks, so to speak, meets a beautiful girl from an affluent background. The two fall in love, but their respective families and friends don’t approve. Pretty typical stuff, right? Well, what Siegel does with “Cruise” is put all this plot under a stylish ‘80s-set sheen of neon, pagers, and synth pop. Yes, the ‘80s are definitely back in style, and Siegel isn’t the first to do it, but his pedigree suggests it could be great.
Leading the cast is social media icon Emily Ratajkowski, who stars as the aforementioned good girl, with a wild side. Before you write off Ratajkowski as just a model, she has previously had roles in “Gone Girl,” “Entourage,” and most recently, in “I Feel Pretty.” The film also stars Spencer Boldman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Lucas Salvagno, Kathrine Narducci, Noah Robbins, and Gino Cafarelli.
“Cruise” hits theaters and On Demand on September 28.
Here’s the official synopsis:
It’s the Summer of ’87, and Gio (Spencer Boldman), an Italian kid from Queens, has little on his mind but cars and girls. Gio thinks he’s got it all figured out until he meets Jessica (Emily Ratajkowski), a nice Jewish girl from Long Island who likes to go undercover for illicit thrills on the wrong side of the tracks. An affectionate look at the youth culture of a bygone era, CRUISE celebrates the joys of muscle cars, Motorola pagers and endless summer nights.