Touchy Feely (2013)

Excellent adaptation.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Blistering performances.

Between Ellen Page, Allison Janney, and Rosemarie DeWitt, you have a great filmography between the three in which you will likely find the best drama or comedy movies of the past few years; and between DeWitt and Janney, you'll also find some of the best television of the past few years. Leading to the question of how come this film seemed to not really pop up anywhere? Is it simply that Magnolia Pictures wanted to focus on their other projects more, like Blackfish, or simply a general lack of interest? To find out if you should be interested in this movie, look below.Characters & StoryIn this awkward little family, Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) is a massage therapist, who has an interest in alternative medicine; her brother Paul (Josh Pais), who at first meeting comes off as Abby's father, is a dentist who speaks in monotone and is very plain; and then there is Paul's daughter Jenny (Ellen Page) who simply is a young girl, likely fresh out of high school, who is unsure what to do with her life. Leading to the main story which deals with Abby's sudden phobia of being touched, or touching people, as her brother magically starts getting the healing touch. Something which turns his dying dental practice into the place many believe a miracle worker practices at. And while Abby adjusts to losing her ability to make people feel better, she has to deal with her boyfriend Jesse (Scoot McNairy), who originally was supposed to be a rebound from her ex Adrian (Ron Livingston). Then, as for Paul, as he discovers the power of his touch can help people, he starts to meet more and more with Abby's friend Browyn (Allison Janney) who teaches him Reiki, among other things. Leaving Jenny who pretty much spends most of the movie either working with her dad or wanting her aunt's boyfriend.PraiseWhen it comes to praise, the nicest thing I can say is that the aforementioned actresses, and their co-stars, seem to fit their characters well. DeWitt playing a normal woman put in a weird situation seems in her comfort zone; Page being a teen who is on the cusp of adulthood and unprepared for the burden seems like something she is comfortable with; and then Janney playing an sort of eccentric character who rolls with the punches, once more, seems like something she has done before and is very comfortable in doing again and again.CriticismProblem with that is, with their performances all feeling like a character they have played before, and with them playing these new characters without enthusiasm, it makes for a rather boring watching experience. Something which isn't helped by a story which never really explains why Abby gained her phobia of touching people, much less why Paul suddenly has magic fingers. There is no medium who makes them switch abilities, nor are there any concrete reasons. Then, when it comes to Paul, he is so boring that even as he meets with Browyn and tries to become a more interesting character, it feels more like a last ditch effort more than anything. Plus throughout the film I just felt like there was this big elephant in the room dealing with who in the world was Jenny's mom and where did she go? Since Paul, in the state we meet him, honestly seems more realistic as a 50+ year old divorcée, with two kids, rather than a guy in his 40s who has Abby as his sister and Jenny as his daughter. The story as a whole though does not in any way makeup for these dull characters unfortunately. For between the aforementioned switch, and then the personal drama, you are left wondering what is the point of the film, or the story they are trying to tell? With Abby's relationship with both Jesse and Adrian, there doesn't seem to be any real direction, conflict, much less resolution. Then, when it comes to Jenny, the whole her liking Jesse thing was very weird and it also felt a bit slapped together. Almost like they knew it should have been cut, but they wanted Ellen Page in the movie, so they threw something together so that the role was just big enough for her to justify showing up, learning her lines, and maybe mentioning the movie hopefully.Overall: Skip ItI was meandering between saying this was "TV Viewing" or "Skip It" when I first started watching this, but as the plot continued on, no characters began to draw me into their drama, and the story showed that it was all downhill from the beginning, I honestly wanted to stop watching this movie. And even though I did finish it, I can't honestly imagine this being worth more than background noise for a good Sunday nap. For while I like the female leads of the movie, and think they are brilliant, in each and every one of their filmographies you'll find films like these which seem more made for them to say they were actively working than really part of something you can imagine them openly, and repeatedly, promoting.

Well, like I'm sure many have, I also claimed to wanting to watch DeWitt in almost anything. 'YSS/Your sister's sister' was followed by that fracking movie with Matt Damon and John Krasinski, in which DeWitt didn't have much to do, but hey, she was there, the voice of Damon's conscience (mm-hmm). Well, she's in this one too, re-teaming with her YSS director, Lynn Shelton. It's a surreal kinda tale, with the tone weaving more towards the comedic rather than the dramatic, which was the strength of YSS. It spins 2 parallel tales of siblings, where one's fortune in their chosen profession takes off, along with cementing certain personal relationships as well, while the other's fortunes nosedive in parallel. While observing both these whimsical tales is interesting, strangely enough, there's a connection lacking between the protagonists and us, the audience. The cast's fantastic, with Alison Janney having a nice coupla scenes (but not enough, esp. towards the end), along with Ellen 'Juno' Page, Scoot 'Killing them softly' 'Argo' 'In search of a midnight kiss' McNairy and Ron 'Office Space' 'Swingers' 'Drinking Buddies' Livingston (who's in this for 1 scene, sorry RL fans).All of that casting comes to naught though, and I classify this under being one of those 'missed efforts', of which there seem to be so much floating out there. Still, its an Indie, and its got Rosemarie DeWitt, and I'd watch her in anything, even repeatedly.Its also surprising that the movie doesn't use one of its key conceits (that kinda makes its appearance a little bit towards the end) to more effect, in spite of its having been 'used' by both of its key protagonists. And what does each 'learn' from their predicament - no answer. Where is their arc? Maybe there was one, but I definitely missed it. Why don't we go deeper into the metaphors for 'massage', 'Reiki' (one needs touch, and the other uses your 'aura', therefore needing no touch - what do they mean to one another in the context of this flick) and even 'dentistry' - no clue. All of this came across as kinda half-baked, but perhaps Shelton was leaning towards being abstract, the way most Indies wanna get to be. I did not get it the way it was perhaps intended.Well, all that being said, I need to watch it for DeWitt once again, though its kinda surprising that Pais gets more screen-time than she does.

First, I am very picky about movies. I dislike most modern films because they lack solid acting, a thoughtful plot, and meaningful pacing, and instead opt for a fast-paced romp to keep the viewer entertained for 90 minutes. This film is quite different. The pace was not rushed, the characters were developed, and the acting was superb. I've now watched this film multiple times and pick up new things from each viewing. It is a very thoughtful film about who we think we are, and how fixated we are on how we think life ought to be, and I feel like anyone who takes some time to ponder about this film will have a lot to think about and enjoy reflecting on.

I don't "get" Touchy Feely, is there a message one can learn from watching this movie? The Characters are dull and it's as if we're watching a movie that's been put on because the late night infomercial tapes aren't working, at no point is any relevant plot established and the acting is awkward at best. When the Dentists unexplained phenomenal healing touch diminishes and the professional massage therapist decides she is sickened by the thing she has chosen as a career the characters turn to drug use to solve there problems, the most meaningful conversation is when the father and daughter sit at the table after there one night bender and don't say anything at all.One redeeming factor is Ellen Page she is as cute as always she earns all 3 stars I give this midday (watch as you cook or background noise) movie.