I thought the acting was really good but I'm not sure what this movie was really about.

This is yet another Indie film which deflects the repressed behaviors and dilemmas of middle class American families. The fine cast does their best with the material, but this light weight fable makes little sense as plotlines are swept under the carpet, or else forgotten by the screen writer. So for this being a very slow moving film, and losing my interest in half of the movie, and as my review says everything of how I feel about this film, I give " Touchey Feely " a D-.

The plot is forgettable the characters paper thin. Nothing interesting happens and then in mercifully ends.

I think it would have been better if it was about Ellen Page's character, because she was more engaging than the rest of the cast, though I liked Allison Janney and Scott McNairy - also not main characters. One thing that really bugged me though was the film's lack of knowledge about reiki. Suddenly, without trying, Paul's dental patients magically have their TMJ cured. This happens in one visit. There's an implication that Paul is inadvertently doing reiki, but that ain't how it works. I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that. I'm also surprised that the writer/director didn't make more of an effort to understand it or at least run her script by someone who does reiki.

I think the most disappointing thing about Touchy Feely is that it really could have been great. It features interesting ideas and has great performances, especially by Pais and the criminally underutilized but always fantastic Ellen Page. However, the film is bogged down by boring scenes and little to no character development. The film has a fantastic scene near the end involving a guitar, and I finally thought that it was going to become good. However, literally 5 minutes later the movie ended. It is not a terrible movie, but wastes great potential with pointless scenes and terrible decisions.

It is a well-acted film and there are some really lovely moments, but even as a fan of Lynn Shelton's work, "Touchy Feely" is tonally, and narratively, all over the place. I feel like something went wrong during the production, and she had to somehow make things seem watchable. It starts out solid, but it loses its control afterwards and it got very confusing. It's an underwhelming film.

Touchy Feely, the latest from writer-director Lynn Shelton, is the dreariest thing this side of Shelton's hometown of Seattle. If the over-under on smiles cracked by the film's quartet of main characters was four, I'd take the under. Even worse than the misery is the film's thematic aimlessness. Shelton got at deep and meaningful human truths with Humpday (and tried to with Your Sister's Sister). Here, she's got all the symbolism in the world at her fingertips (pun intended), but it's in service of a pretty pedestrian story and underwhelming characters. Abby (Rosemary DeWitt) is a seemingly happy massage therapist and her family's rock. Her painfully shy and awkward brother, Paul (Josh Pais), is seeing his dental practice disintegrate before his eyes, while his daughter-Abby's niece, Jenny (Ellen Page)-feels trapped by her father. She wants to go to college, but he doesn't make her feel like it's an option. Very suddenly and bizarrely, Abby is stricken with a crippling inability to touch anyone, rendering her unable to work or be around her boyfriend, Jesse (Scoot McNairy). Meanwhile, her brother, too, undergoes an inexplicable change. He's curing patients of their pain, which brings in some new blood and helps turn the business around. It's hard to figure what's worse-the film's setup or its conclusion. No explanation is given for either Abby's or Paul's sudden change in, what, cosmic energy? Both spend time with a hippie natural healer, Bronwyn (Allison Janney), but her presence is the film is as inexplicable as anything else. Still, an inexplicable plot turn-if it leads to compelling conflict and/or a satisfying ending-is totally fine. Touchy Feely has neither of these, sadly. The conflict is utterly nonexistent, so by the film's end, there's nothing to resolve. Touchy Feely is not without merits. I'll never dislike Rosemary DeWitt in a movie. Ever. It's simply not in my genetic code. She brings an authenticity to even the most awkward of roles that casting her in your movie is an automatic win. I'd almost say the opposite of Ellen Page in most situations. Post-Juno, she never seems to fit the roles she's given, whether she's playing a genius architect in Inception or a hot, young sexpot in To Rome with Love. Here, she's hardly around enough to bring the picture down, but I'd argue against my better judgment that she actually brings something to the movie by remaining lower than low-key throughout. Josh Pais is rather one-note as Paul, but the blame for this character's shortcomings and the film in general lies squarely with Shelton. She takes such visual liberties with her film's themes-throwing in a number of gorgeous extreme close-ups of skin and hands and all the things we touch-but when it comes to applying these themes to tell a story, she comes up startlingly short. Touchy Feely has a beginning and a middle (which aren't exactly good), but I'm sitting here, hours later, wondering what happened to the end, wondering how these characters have changed and learned. And I've got nothing, which is ultimately what this film amounts to. http://www.johnlikesmovies.com/touchy-feely-review/

This did not really do for me ...

this movie actually sucked! I only watched it for Ellen Page! the plot is non existent, as well the script is far from amazing it almost seemed like they weren't trying hard enough. the movie when it had rare funny moments was because it was awkward and out of place.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances I will not be seeing clients for the time being." I was a huge admirer of Lynn Shelton's film, Your Sister's Sister, and I even included it on my list of the best movies of 2011 so I was eagerly anticipating what she would do next. I loved the way she captured those characters in such an authentic way and I was onboard for her mumblecore experimentation once again. Knowing that Rosemarie DeWitt was going to be back for the lead role was one of the main reasons I included Touchy Feely in my most anticipated movies of the year list. It didn't hurt either that Ellen Page was going to play a supporting role since I was a huge fan of her work in Hard Candy and Juno. Everything about Touchy Feely had my expectations high rocketed to the sky, but then 2012 came and poor word of mouth lowered my expectations to such a degree that I never ended up seeing it until now. It was a major letdown and it made Lynn's previous film, Laggies, seem like a masterpiece next to this. This is a dramedy that feels completely uneven and the plot doesn't seem to go anywhere. I didn't like any of the characters here and their motivations were hard to understand at times. The film was a mess and the pacing was so slow that this 90 minute film felt like it was three hours long. For a film trying to explore the interrelationships between these characters there was nothing to be said or discovered. Even the actors seemed to be lost and not fully understanding what their characters motivations really were. Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), a successful message therapist, and her boyfriend Jesse (Scoot McNairy) are enjoying a lovely dinner at her brother Paul's (Josh Pais) home. Paul, emotionally distant and a bit depressed, lives with his daughter Jenny (Ellen Page) who has sacrificed her personal dreams to assist her father at his dental practice, which isn't exactly flourishing. Abby on the other hand is sought after for her great hands and seems to be going through a good moment in her life. She recommends his brother visit her Reiki instructor, Bronwyn (Allison Janney), who has done amazing things for her. Things take an unexpected turn in the family dynamics however when Abby suddenly develops a strange aversion towards skin which affects her work life. After Paul helps one of his patients recover from a terrible tooth pain, his dental practice begins to flourish due to the positive word of mouth his "healing hands" are receiving. While his relationship with his daughter seems to be getting stronger, Abbie's new aversion to skin affects her relationship with Jesse. Despite the pretty original premise the film fails to explore Abby's problem. It's just a technique used to shake the interpersonal relationship in the family, but there is nothing that Lynn is trying to explore with her new found aversion. I really didn't understand why her character didn't simply explain to Jesse what she was going through because I'm sure he would've understood. He seemed like a pretty comprehensive type of guy. The introduction of Ron Livingston's character only feels like a filler and doesn't do anything to build the story. Ellen Page delivers a solid performance once again, but her character is trapped inside her emotional wall which doesn't allow her to fully blossom. Pais and DeWitt are the true stars of the film and their performances are the highlight of this forgettable film. Pais especially captures the eccentricities of his character in a rather natural way. I found the New Age mysticism in the film a bit too preachy and the indie quirkiness a bit too familiar. The tone of the film just dragged it down for me and I had a hard time relating to the characters or caring for any of them. http://estebueno10.blogspot.com/

This film was just dumb and awful....

1 Star! Awful movie Very Disturbing

3.5/5 --- Touching and feeling, that is a whole part of being human. So what happens when you cannot stand to touch any more, do you still feel the same (feelings)? This introspective quiet but deeply movie asks the questions and shows you what happens when balance is shaken and we must adapt, and awaken to our other senses. I really enjoyed it, I definitely felt like Ellen Page's character in my days... Done with perfect subtlety.

im a fan of lynn shelton, i liked humpday and i really liked your sisters sister, however this one isnt as focused as those 2, i dont really know what it was trying to say/do, and the ending feels rushed and too neat, theres some good performances yes, but the story just wasnt at that same level, im looking forward to laggies tho, her next film, it has keira knightley in it so obvs im seeing it

Overview: In this Freaky Friday-esque film, a brother and sister swap characteristics which lead to a better life for him and a more difficult one for her. Review (with Spoilers) 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 & Story In 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. Praise When 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. Criticism Problem 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 divorcee, 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 It I was meandering between saying this was "온라인카지노추천 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.

And I thought Sister's Sister was bad!

Everyone in this movie sound like they're either mentally impaired or like they are a mix of characters from other movies. But the last 15 minutes were pretty good.

It was a slow movie all the way through but it still wasn't to bad of a movie had a good cast to it

It's could have been a good movie, but the characters problems never seem to be resolved. I had difficulty understanding the relations between the characters. The ending was pretty bad. If you want to see something worth watching, I don't recommend this movie.

Horribly sad perspective on human interaction. Plus the movie has a terrible tone and rhythm.