American Fantasy

A nostalgia cruise for a once famous boy band and their diehard middle-aged fans provides an opportunity for second chances in this disappointing outing from Straub (This Time Tomorrow). Back in the 1980s and ’90s, Boy Talk ignited millions of teenage girls’ dreams, including those of Annie, now a 50-year-old divorcée who moved on from her adolescent fandom years ago. Still, she books a cabin on the cruise for herself and her younger sister, Katherine, who’s still a “rabid” fan. Katherine cancels at the last minute, however, leaving Annie alone at sea with the superfans. During a photo op with group member Keith, “the nicest one,” Annie asks if he’s okay, and her genuine interest causes him to break down in tears a moment later in the bathroom, overcome with emotion at the decades he’s spent as “a three-dimensional cardboard cutout” for adoring fans. Straub stuffs the narrative with a crowded cast and extraneous subplots, including two involving a lovelorn event producer and another Boy Talk member’s life coach, and fails to bring much depth to a story about the ravages of aging and fame. Meanwhile, the eventual romance between Annie and Keith depends entirely on tropes. It’s a miss. Agent: Claudia Ballard, WME. (Apr.)