I had discovered the documentary The Cruise from watching a clip on Rotten Tomatoes that was Edward Nortons 5 favorite films of all time. The Cruise happened to be his favorite film of all time so with Norton being one of my favorite actors of all time, I immediately started searching for it and low and behold it was on the glorious Netflix instant view.
The Cruise is a 1998 documentary that follows Timothy "Speed" Levitch, a tour guide for New York City's double-decker Gray Line busses. This guy knows just about everything there is to know about NYC. He talks a mile a minute, he's flamboyant, he says what he wants, and he means what he says. He knows about the true history of the city as well as the architecture. I'm not sure if he went to school for architecture or not, I'm pretty sure he didn't, but he probably knows more about it than someone that did.
We come to find out that he only makes a few hundred dollars a week but gets a real joy out of teaching people about the city and making them happy. He certainly doesn't agree with current society and strives to be different and to not live in the shoes of someone who wants to follow all the rules and be a "sucker to society" so to say. I must admit he makes some really valid points on what is expected of humans in this world and how if we don't follow these paths of being "successful" that we're immediately shit on as outcasts. Yes he babbles on and on during the film but it really all makes sense and it's entertaining as hell to watch him strut around the city in his polka dotted jacket and his crazy hair flying all around.
There is a scene in this film where Timothy stands in between the Two Towers and spins around and around to make himself dizzy and then lays on the ground looking up. He stated earlier in the film that this was his favorite thing to do as it appears as though the Two Towers are crashing down upon you. This scene is absolutely beautiful and almost brought a tear to my eye. Timothy "Speed" Levitch may seem like a crazy person at first glance but he's really a beautiful human being with an extraordinary outlook on life and all it's beauty that so many people in this world pass by every day without even noticing. The Cruise gets a 4 and 1/2 outa 5.
