Touchy Feely (2013)
Average Rating: 5.3/10
Reviews Counted: 38
Fresh: 13 | Rotten: 25
Well-acted but overly quirky, Touchy Feely is a tonally uneven dramedy with some interesting ideas but a lack of follow-through.
Average Rating: 5.8/10
Critic Reviews: 12
Fresh: 4 | Rotten: 8
Well-acted but overly quirky, Touchy Feely is a tonally uneven dramedy with some interesting ideas but a lack of follow-through.
liked it
Average Rating: 2.6/5
User Ratings: 1,066
Movie Info
TOUCHY FEELY is a closely observed examination of a family whose delicate psychic balance suddenly unravels. Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), is a sought after massage therapist and a free spirit, while her brother Paul (Josh Pais) thrives on routine and convention, running a flagging dental practice and co-dependently enlisting the assistance of his emotionally stunted daughter Jenny (Ellen Page). Suddenly, transformation touches everyone. Abby develops an uncontrollable aversion to bodily contact,
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Cast
-
Rosemarie DeWitt
Abby -
Josh Pais
Paul -
Ellen Page
Jenny -
Scoot McNairy
Jesse -
Allison Janney
Bronwyn -
Tomo Nakayama
Henry -
Ron Livingston
Adrian -
Amber Wolfe Wollam
Massage Client #1 -
Ethel R. Deans
Mrs. Elvsted -
Shannon Kipp
Susan -
Khanh Doan
Massage Client #2 -
Alycia Delmore
Ellen -
Alexandra Gobeille
Massage Client #3 -
Daniel Malony
Bike Shop Co-worker -
Hans Altwies
Mr. Frobischer -
Sean Nelson
Grateful Man -
Amy Thone
Hopeful Woman -
Kate Bayley
Scared Woman -
Donald B. Deans
Mr. Pfizer -
Sean Donavan
Young Tough with a C... -
Ruth McRee
Mrs. Olsen
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All Critics (38) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (13) | Rotten (25)
There's something fresh and new here, something that wasn't so dominant in [Shelton's] previous work.
Top CriticA work that gestures toward depths without truly plumbing them.
The kind of film that makes you wish they had perfected choose-your-own-adventure technology for movies, one that would allow you to ditch the central character and follow any number of the story's more interesting second bananas.
Shelton is more observant than she is deep, and her filmmaking can be undisciplined, but the movie's rambling, episodic rhythms do seem in tune with the nebulous stasis that infects everyone in Abby's orbit.
"Touchy Feely'' works better in its funnier moments, but Shelton - who pads things out with way too many scenic shots of Seattle - never pulls all these threads together into a satisfying whole.
"Touchy Feely" becomes disoriented and doesn't recover its direction.
There are some wonderful moments scattered throughout and a fantastically awkward performance by Josh Pais, but otherwise Touchy Feely is something of a mess.
A sharp ensemble cast cannot rescue this woefully contrived drama about a family struggling with connections and commitment.
It's an enjoyable dark comedy, although as it centres on the awkwardness between these people, the film never quite resolves into something meaningful.
A great ensemble infuses life into the characters, but it's as if Shelton has painted herself into a corner with no clue what to do next.
The chemistry between Josh Pais and Allison Janney is something wonderful to behold in each of their scenes together here. Too bad they had so few of them.
There's a great movie somewhere inside Touchy Feely desperately trying to swim to the surface, but its obscurity also comes with an inarticulateness that robs it of its potential.
Shelton tells a typically modest story, here, where the only things really at stake are the emotional states of its characters. But that turns out to be more than enough ...
Touchy Feely is in a familiar Shelton comfort zone peopled by mellow, relatable types that many viewers will appreciate. But, ultimately, this pre-fab world does not engage.
I wanted to like this movie more than I did.
Shelton's gift is her naturalism.
Shelton's brand of low-budget, improv-heavy relationship dramedies lends itself well to a quick turnaround. It's only natural then that such an output would inevitably lead to the occasional misstep.
A character-driven drama about some baffling changes in the lives of a middle-aged brother and sister.
What we have here is a film that is so light and airy that there is a very good chance that you will forget it as it's playing on the screen.
Audience Reviews for Touchy Feely
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A slim 88 minute meditation that feels searching without going anywhere, the power in "Touchy Feely" -- and also it's saving grace -- is how it personal it feels; basically an uninterrupted set of crammed, overlapping and unfinished vignettes, like a mixtape consisting strictly of nine-minute slices of shoegaze from different experimental bands. Shelton wrote, directed and edited "Touchy Feely" herself. That something born from a bedroom on an early morning or late night -- or at least shifts tone like it was -- could seem so agreeable let alone welcoming is to the credit of Shelton. "Touchy Feely" may not always meet the potential of its high concept and cast, but you root for it.