Metro Times' movie reviewer Jeff Meyers gives "Detroit Unleaded," a film about a familiar Detroit trope, a qualified thumbs up.
Totally cast and filmed in Detroit, Detroit Unleaded is the debut feature of Director Rola Nashef and stars first-time feature actors EJ Assi and Nada Shouhayib, along with actor-comedian Mike Batayeh ("Breaking Bad"), Mary Assel, Steven Soros, and Lebanese film and television star Akram El-Ahmar.
Meyers writes:
Sometimes sincerity and personality trump a well-crafted story. Nashef’s first feature could probably have benefited from a stronger script, but that doesn’t keep her shaggy-dog rom-com from bursting with infectious goodwill and charm.
Sami (E.J. Assi) is a twentysomething Lebanese-American headed for college. Tragically, his plans are derailed when his father is shot and killed at the family’s Detroit gas station, leaving him to run the business with his fast-talking cousin Mike (Mike Batayeh).
Caught between modern American lifestyles and the Old World traditions of his culture, Sami literally finds himself caged behind bullet-proof glass, uncertain of where his life is headed. His days (and nights) are spent attending to a rambunctious menagerie of local characters and customers, while his mother (Mary Assel), paralyzed by grief, confines herself to their Dearborn home.
"Detroit Unleaded" premiers at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Detroit Film Theatre at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Click here for details.
Click here for the "Detroit Unleaded" website.
