How to Talk to Girls at Parties

When I read Neil Gaiman's short story of the same title, I wanted more. It is a beautiful story, I wanted more of it, and this movie delivered for me.

If you want to know what you are getting into before watching, it is a blend of romanticized teenage punk scene with fantasy world aliens. It is nostalgic, fun, and touching. You can read the short story before watching the movie, or read the comic book (it is beautiful).

Some negative reviews I've seen say the movie failed their expectations, which were based solely on the title (lol), or cast. Don't be that person. Or maybe they are just punks?

I liked the setting and aesthetic quite a bit.

Though, it was a strange film-- better than your typical Hollywood schlock that fills up most theaters, but it's in no way great. I feel like much more could have been done with this concept, but it just left me, kinda uninterested about halfway though.

The film is not bad, but it's also not good.

If you can watch it for free, eh go ahead.

5/10

I managed to watch this online through my Roku on the Kanopy streaming site through my public library's subscription.

To mention that this is a very unusual movie is a big understatement. It starts normally, for a British setting, with the usual goofiness, but then everything changes when a group of three friends crash a party full of people in what appears to be a very strange cult. This is not the kind of movie I'd like to watch often but as a one-off it is very entertaining for those of us who can appreciate the very unusual.

Most of it takes place in the 1970s but there is a scene at the very end in 1992, apparently some new ones start to show up. In the credits is a statement, "No aliens were harmed in making this film" which gives a hint to what we just watched.

It has some of my favorite actors, including Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, and Ruth Wilson, all dressed strangely and playing very strange roles. It was a bit disconcerting to see Kidman and Wilson in such nontraditional roles.

It's pretentious and cheesy, unique and amazing. The only promise I can make is that you have never seen anything like it. That in itself should be enough to make any movie or art lover feel like this movie was money and time well spent. Of course there are flaws, but it's punk, that's what gives it character. If you spend all your money on Hollywood reboots, stay far, far away...

You can enjoy the humor in this movie on the surface level or try to dig deeper into the many metaphors. I just went along for the ride and had a great time.

Bizarre. Immaculately bizarre. An ambitious empty shell that struggles to develop its themes and characters. The equivalent of banging your head to The Sex Pistols whilst being surrounded by gymnasts in tight Lycra. It seems Mitchell tried desperately hard to achieve cult status for his film. Mixing absurdist sci-fi with an emerging music movement that swept good ol' Croydon. Unfortunately he misses the mark. A punk enthusiast meets a mysterious girl at a party and only has a certain amount of time to introduce her to the world of punk rock. During that allotted time, a romance blossoms that would transcend space itself.

The underlying problem that polluted this well-intentioned project is the screenplay. Goslett failed to understand that the merging of two genres, especially one of them being a romance, relies on relatable and humanistic characters. Fanning, who I'm sure wasn't acting in this (that's just her normal self...), gets a pass for portraying a stellar extraterrestrial. Sharp on the other hand, well his character was a mess. No fault of his own. Mitchell tried divulging into his backstory, which was instantly forgettable, and failed to create a spark between the two leads. For the most part, there was no emotional resonance. It wasn't until the final twenty minutes, when punk matriarch Kidman's army of little punk rockers raid their contemporary "tourists" abode, that the tangible love started to stick. Too late I'm afraid. Was all too forced for my liking.

I do however admire Mitchell's unique vision, almost reminiscent of Gilliam's work, which suited the artistic aesthetic that was being exhumed. A wondrous experience that made me scratch my head whilst being hypnotised. Stupendous use of colour. Just a shame that its entirety doesn't really stick, although undoubtedly will be viewed as an ambitious cult film in the future I'm sure. Admirably ambitious is the best description. Though Nicole Kidman, man, she would make a crazy rocker that's for sure!