“Summer of 69” is gearing up for its global premiere SXSW in March, and its first look photos showcase the shenanigans in Jillian Bell’s feature film directorial debut.
In the exclusive first look photos shared with TheWrap, “That ’90s Show” star Sam Morelos appears as an awkward high school senior who hires an exotic dancer (Chloe Fineman) to help seduce her longtime crush before graduation.
Their journey — which pulls in Matt Cornett, Nicole Byer, Liza Koshy, Natalie Morales, Alex Moffat, Fernando Carsa, Paula Pell and Charlie Day — leads to unexpected friendship and lessons in self-confidence, acceptance and adulthood, according to the official synopsis. The film will be available to stream on Hulu later this year as part of American High’s first-look deal with Hulu.
Bell, who directs, produces and wrote the screenplay alongside Liz Nico and Jules Byrne, said she was drawn to the story because it “poses as a typical teen comedy: the protagonist wants to land her crush, and then it shifts into this unique, hilarious and touching film about female friendship.”
Comparing the coming-of-age story to Bell’s own relationship with her older sister, whom she said “taught [her] everything [she] was too afraid to ask anyone else,” Bell noted “Summer of 69” spotlights the important dynamic for “young women of different ages and different experiences.”
“‘Summer of 69’ is filled with so much comedy and heart. It’s about that time in your life when you don’t have all the answers, and you do wild things to get it right,” Bell said in an interview with TheWrap. “These are the good times you look back on and realize that the journey was the most fun part … It’s about accepting who you are instead of rushing to be something you’re not. “
See below for a first look at “Summer of 69.”
Sam Morelos in “Summer of 69”
Chloe Fineman in “Summer of 69”
Paula Pell, Nicole Byer and Liza Koshy in “Summer of 69”
Charlie Day in “Summer of 69”
Sam Morelos and Chloe Fineman in “Summer of 69”
Chloe Fineman in “Summer of 69”
Jillian Bell and Sam Morelos on the set of “Summer of 69”
