How to Talk to Girls at Parties

Name: How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Genre: Sci-Fi, Comedy, Romance, Music
Released: May 25, 2018
Duration: 102 min
Rating: 50
Cast: Alex Sharp, Alice Sanders, Elarica Gallacher, Elle Fanning, Eloise Smyth

2018

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Mixed or average reviews based on 24 Critic Reviews

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Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Ratings

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5.0	User Score Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Ratings

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How To Talk To Girls At Parties

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Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: May 25, 2018 | R

Starring: Alex Sharp, Alice Sanders, Elarica Gallacher, Elle Fanning, Eloise Smyth, Joanna Scanlan, Joey Ansah, Lucy Jayne Murray, Matt Lucas, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Wilson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Brooke

Summary: Enn (Alex Sharp) is a shy suburban London teenager in 1977, sneaking out with his best friends to after-hours punk parties. One night they stumble upon a bizarre gathering of sexy teenagers who seem like they are from another planet. In fact, they are from another planet, visiting Earth to complete a mysterious rite of passage. That doesn’tEnn (Alex Sharp) is a shy suburban London teenager in 1977, sneaking out with his best friends to after-hours punk parties. One night they stumble upon a bizarre gathering of sexy teenagers who seem like they are from another planet. In fact, they are from another planet, visiting Earth to complete a mysterious rite of passage. That doesn’t stop Enn from falling madly in love with Zan (Elle Fanning), a beautiful and rebellious alien teenager who, despite her allegiance to her strange colony, is fascinated by Enn. Together they embark on a delirious adventure through the kinetic punk rock world of 1970s London, inadvertently setting off a series of events that will lead to the ultimate showdown of punks vs. aliens, and test the limits of how far each of them will go for true love. [A24]… Expand

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Comedy, Romance, Music

Rating: R

Runtime: 102 min

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Critic Reviews

Oktay Ege Kozak

Jun 5, 2018

How to Talk to Girls at Parties is a deliciously bizarre and refreshingly unique experience that not only manages to successfully meld two completely opposite tones—punk and whimsy—but to wrap them up into an exhilarating narrative that infuses a familiar sci-fi/comedy/romance structure with a host of surprises that even the most hardened genre scholar will appreciate. Read full review

Lee Marshall

May 27, 2017

How To Talk To Girls at Parties shouldn’t work, as it feels at times like a film made by a talented student collective who overheard a ‘punk vs aliens’ elevator pitch. But work it does: it’s all a bit mad, but ultimately rather moving. Read full review

Michael O'Sullivan

Jun 1, 2018

Setting the film in the punk heyday underscores the film’s themes of personal freedom and defying authority. And there are heartwarming touches, despite a plot that is muddied by sci-fi mumbo-jumbo about cannibalism. Read full review

David Rooney

May 27, 2017

Ultimately, this psychedelic culture-clash comedy-romance takes what was at heart a relatively simple story by Gaiman, which channeled bold sci-fi imagination into relatable adolescent experience, and overcomplicates it beyond repair. Read full review

Justin Chang

May 24, 2018

How to Talk to Girls at Parties is an aimless, sweet-souled jumble. Its ebullience is palpable, if rarely infectious. Read full review

Emily Yoshida

May 27, 2017

The script is frantically trying to build a whole world when a modest house would do. Read full review

Owen Gleiberman

May 27, 2017

The film enunciates its raw themes — punk means individuality! the aliens are all about conformity! — but never begins to figure out how to embody those themes in a narrative that could lure in the audience. Read full review

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User Reviews

justwibi

Oct 10, 2018

actually HTTTGAP had a original idea. but this movie couldn't handle it well. there's a lot of thing happens but the plot itself is not combining in a good way.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CosiMOLOGO

Sep 10, 2018

Neil Gaiman es uno de los escritores más prodigiosos del género fantástico. Coraline adaptado el 2009 y el 2017 American Gods, una serie producida por Amazon. Ahora de la mano de John Cameron Mitchell trae la historia de un grupo de chicos punk que un día de fiesta se encuentran con unosNeil Gaiman es uno de los escritores más prodigiosos del género fantástico. Coraline adaptado el 2009 y el 2017 American Gods, una serie producida por Amazon. Ahora de la mano de John Cameron Mitchell trae la historia de un grupo de chicos punk que un día de fiesta se encuentran con unos extraterrestres. Enn, interpretado magistralmente por Alex Sharp, se enamora de Zan, , una chica perteneciente a una de las colonias extraterrestres. La historia de Gaiman sirve como marco, ya que solo es la primera parte de la película Lo más notorio en la película es el estilo visual. John Cameron Mitchell ya había trabajado en una película similar el 2001 con Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Un estilo que recuerda al musical clásico The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Esta puede ser considerada una película rara para el público que va en busca de una típica comedia romántica. Pero aquellos que hayan disfrutado del trabajo anterior de este director o les guste The Rocky Horror Picture Show seguramente también la disfrutarán. El problema de esta película es que no define un discurso principal. Trata de tocar varios temas y no trabaja bien uno solo. Pero sin embargo es una película entretenida, colorida, hilarante y muy bien actuada.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

moviemitch96

Jun 4, 2018

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout. Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman honestly could've picked such a better film to associate themselves with too. Overall, it's not completelyWow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout. Elle Fanning and Nicole Kidman honestly could've picked such a better film to associate themselves with too. Overall, it's not completely terrible, but it's definitely very mediocre, random, scattershot, and once again I can't stress this enough, bizarre!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JLuis_001

May 27, 2018

There's definitely attitude and energy. Musical and rebellious energy, Elle Fanning is a treasure. Nicole Kidman is having a solid streak with diverse roles and this is an excellent example and the film itself isn't quite a disaster but it's indeed very disappointing and painfully dull.

TheThere's definitely attitude and energy. Musical and rebellious energy, Elle Fanning is a treasure. Nicole Kidman is having a solid streak with diverse roles and this is an excellent example and the film itself isn't quite a disaster but it's indeed very disappointing and painfully dull.

The film is all over the place and there's never a grasp of direction. The story feels incredibly unfocused and that's the reason why it became so boring.
I also didn't feel any sort of connection with the characters and I never really found them interesting enough to carry the whole weight of the film.

This film is based on a short story by Neil Gaiman which I think did not exceed more than 20 pages, so I guess the director; John Cameron Mitchell exaggerated the dimension and the scope of the story in order to portray it with his vision, but for me his vision was tremendously flawed.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

TVJerry

Jun 3, 2018

Talk about a misrepresented title: You'd think this would be a silly teen comedy about awkward boys. Instead, it's a weird sci-fi mess that takes place in 1977 London, when the punk movement was at its peak. Three high schoolers are aiming for the safety-pin lifestyle when they run across aTalk about a misrepresented title: You'd think this would be a silly teen comedy about awkward boys. Instead, it's a weird sci-fi mess that takes place in 1977 London, when the punk movement was at its peak. Three high schoolers are aiming for the safety-pin lifestyle when they run across a house full of weirdos. Turns out they're aliens, but that doesn't stop an interspecies romance from developing (featuring Elle Fanning). Sadly, what starts as fun turns into a tedious discussion about personal freedom and love and a bunch of other useless blather. The otherwordly angle is mostly dumb and confusing, while the punk world (including Nicole KIdman as the matriarch) is noisy chaos (which is kinda appropriate). Also, the fact this movie is copyrighted 2016 reveals that even the filmmakers were hesitant about its release. Director John Cameron Mitchell has his 3rd strikeout.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GrantD243

Jan 22, 2019

Oof, this one right here, officer. How to Talk to Girls at Parties is one of the worst films of 2018. The concept is cool, and the acting is decent, but the execution of the story just misses the mark by about three miles.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ShowMeMore

May 29, 2018

Wow. From the director of Angry Inch and Shortbus - so I was not expecting a mainstream conventional film. I can't help but think "What was Nicole Kidman thinking". Although Kidman acts in independent films relatively often I think this was just one too far.
At its heart I think this filmWow. From the director of Angry Inch and Shortbus - so I was not expecting a mainstream conventional film. I can't help but think "What was Nicole Kidman thinking". Although Kidman acts in independent films relatively often I think this was just one too far.
At its heart I think this film is a love story, but there are many clashing genres. But then again the film's mode of delivery is the punk rock scene - so there's that. Some punk rock kids find an after party in some dilapidated building. They enter to find supreme weirdness within. The building is occupied by aliens who have come to earth to feed on humans to grow their colony. It's a scary prospect which never comes across in a convincing or threatening manner. I was not convinced or really drawn in at all. So the "love conquers all" finale idea falls pretty flat. Furthermore, if you are going to make a film that challenges the important idea of rules vs anarchy, conformity vs non-conformity or collectivism vs individualism then you need to do better than this.
Visually the film was not too bad but I'm afraid it's just a terrible movie. It will probably gain a cult status along the way.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

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