X
- 2013
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
- 2013
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
Summary When she's stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact, a massage therapist is unable to do her job. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's struggling dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his healing touch.
Directed By: Lynn Shelton
Written By: Lynn Shelton
- 2013
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
- 2013
- R
- Magnolia Pictures
- 1 h 28 m
Touchy Feely
55
5.4
Where to Watch
Summary When she's stricken with a mysterious and sudden aversion to bodily contact, a massage therapist is unable to do her job. Meanwhile, her uptight brother's struggling dental practice receives new life when clients seek out his healing touch.
Directed By: Lynn Shelton
Written By: Lynn Shelton
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
55
39% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
56% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 18 Critic Reviews
55
39% Positive
7 Reviews
7 Reviews
56% Mixed
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
6% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The cast is more than game. DeWitt's Abby is earnest and searching and a little bit nuts, but we're never encouraged to see her as dumb, credulous or pathetic.
Laughs come less frequently here than in Humpday and Your Sister's Sister, but the writer-director's empathy for floundering characters is intact.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 User Ratings
5.4
36% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
27% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
36% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 11 User Ratings
5.4
36% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
27% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
36% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
After "Your Sister's Sister" (2011), also from writer/director Lynn Shelton and star Rosemarie DeWitt, I expected a lot more from "Touchy Feely", which is a bit unfair. It's similarly nuanced but doesn't have as strong of character development. This features a great cast with some fine performances, but too many storylines running in different directions with a conclusion that leaves a lot to be desired. Definitely not worth a theater-viewing, Shelton's films are best viewed from the comforts of home which is not meant to be an insult.
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In the days since, I have found myself thinking about these characters at unexpected moments. Maybe the film, like its characters, just needs a little time to grow on you.
wWen the filmmaker lines up her characters to confront their respective fears of intimacy, the loosey-goosey vibe clashes with the script’s clunky machinations; like her characters, Shelton doesn’t know what to do when things actually happen.
Without an improvisational buffer, in which actors feel their way naturally and uncertainly from moment to moment, Shelton’s scenario feels as painfully contrived as it is.
Intermittently funny but erratically structured, it's a rare disappointment from Shelton.
Worse than the goofy premise, Shelton fails to enliven the incredibly talk-heavy (but subtext-free) inaction with any sort of visual flair.
Aside from a few movies that aren't worth mentioning, Touchy Feely has the worst script this year. Besides being absolutely terrible, the movie is painfully boring. The characters are horrible, the pace is irritating and the movie takes the phrase "I don't know" to a new level. A complete disaster of a film.
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Release Date Sep 6, 2013
Duration 1 h 28 m
Rating R
Awards
Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
