Lynn Shelton’s “Touchy Feely” is one of those Mumblecore (a term used to describe micro-budget pictures about awkward white people) movies that you just shrug at when done watching it.
Considering all of the major-studio comedy slog that comes out on a weekly basis, it is refreshing to see a comedy featuring awkward, average-looking people and one that’s not shot in the glamorous sectors of New York or Los Angeles.
At the same time, the characters in “Touchy Feely” are so thinly sketched and the situations they find themselves in feel so trivial and insignificant (this is true of all Mumblecore movies, but for some reason, the situations feel especially trivial in this film) that it doesn’t leave much of an impression. You may be mildly entertained, but when you’re done, it will almost completely evaporate from your mind.
“Touchy Feely” can be best described as a 90-minute “sigh.”
Shot on location in Seattle and made in the homemade, deadpan/quirky manner characteristic of all Mumblecore movies, “Touchy Feely” follows the goings-on of two siblings (a brother and sister) who suffer from identity crises and need to be emotionally recharged.
The sister, Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt), is a masseuse who’s a free spirit, typical of any indie-quirky comedy character. She’s seeing a bike-shop owner (Scoot McNairy), who suggests they move in together, which she agrees to hesitantly. But then, one day, she develops a sudden aversion to physical contact with humans.
We never learn why she gets this sudden aversion, and quite frankly, Shelton doesn’t give us much of a reason to care. Perhaps it’s caused by the proposal for her to move in with her boyfriend, but before he can even figure out what’s going on, she runs away from him. Ultimately, Abby comes off mopey and shallow, and her problem feels so First World.
The brother, Paul (Josh Pais), is a little more interesting, although he’s still thinly drawn. He lives a mundane, uptight life as a dentist with his daughter Jenny (a surprisingly restrained Ellen Paige). Initially, his dentistry (plainly named “Family Dentistry”) is struggling, but then, seemingly out of nowhere (much like his sister’s bizarre condition), his waiting room goes from empty to full. Admittedly, I found some mild amusement from this whimsical little tangent but Shelton doesn’t do a whole lot with it and it’s resolved fairly quickly.
However, Jenny is probably the weakest note in the entire picture, despite Paige’s best attempts. We get the impression early on that she’s not entirely happy working and living with her dad and would like to go to college, but she doesn’t appear to have any ambitions or interests. Of all the main characters, we learn the least about her.
“Touchy Feely” proceeds to wander around from one mundane situation to the next, until it finally reaches its resolution, which — much like the rest of the movie — is underwhelming. The only major message in the entire picture is that consuming tablets of ecstasy can help you get your life back on track.
The interactions between the characters do feel perfectly natural and are handled without any melodrama. Also, the acting overall is solid (especially Pais, whose mannerisms and tone of voice are shockingly normal.
But, in the end, “Touchy Feely” amounts to very little.
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