How to Talk to Girls at Parties

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!

The movie is just weird in every way possible ,, and i think that what made it appealing and interesting to watch .. The story grows from a punk kid loves to rock to meeting that alien girl from the cult "of California :D" and they start living the punk life together.. The ending was so unexpected and surprisingly emotional.

The story-line is well built and the events from start to finish are easily fathomable,, the casting was just amazing ,, loved Nicole Kidman and Ruth Wilson .. Nicole was so cool ... and Alex Sharp and the other two co-stars did an amazing job too.

Recommended if you love weird sci-fi 80's style rock hip movies :D ,, if you don't love this movie you might actually hate it a lot ,, it just doesn't go in between.

Enn (Alex Sharp) is a disaffected youth in late 70's suburban London. He and his friends follow the local punk scene. He writes his zine and has trouble talking to girls. The boys crash a party after the club. They find the people there strange and Enn believes them to be a cult. Zan (Elle Fanning) decides to leave the group to find unique experiences with Enn. The group go to see advent-guard artist Queen Boadicea (Nicole Kidman).

This has some fun and some weirdness. The problem is that it doesn't have quite enough fun nor enough weirdness. Director John Cameron Mitchell is best known for Hedwig and the Angry Inch. I did check out the Neil Gaiman graphic short story which has two regular dudes from an all-boys school and the story takes place mostly at that party. I'm sure Mitchell added the punk element which actually added color to the story. Elle Fanning is definitely a beauty which explains why Enn would tolerate her weirdness. The story should really take place over one night. That has the tendency to intensify the narrative. It would also allow Kidman to join the movie earlier. I only laughed once when the aliens blocked the hallway in formation. Otherwise, this is an odd little movie which fails to elevate.

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.

Greetings again from the darkness. Filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell exploded onto the scene in 2001 with his instant cult favorite HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, and in 2010 he delivered the expertly crafted and somber marital drama RABBIT HOLE. In his first feature film since the latter, Mitchell revisits the punk world in what has been described as Romeo and Juliet with punks and aliens.

Mitchell and co-writer Philippa Goslett adapted the screenplay from a short story by Neil Gaiman ("American Gods"). It's set in 1977 Croydon (outside London) and though music plays a vital role, it's not really a musical. And even with some funny moments, it's not really a comedy. And while there are aliens, one wouldn't label this as science fiction. There is a budding romance at the core, and maybe the romance description fits best ... although, any unwitting group of film goers heading to the theatre expecting a typical romantic drama will likely walk out in the first 15 minutes.

Zan (Elle Fanning) and Enn (Alex Sharp) are star-crossed (or is it intergalactic-crossed?) lovers - she being an alien, he a young punk rocker. This is less about two worlds colliding than two worlds exploring each other: the freedom of punk vs the conformity of the alien colony. We cross paths with the local Queen of punk known as Boadicea (one of the most extreme Nicole Kidman roles of her career), the alien Stella (Ruth Wilson), and Enn's punk mates Vic (Abraham Lewis) and John (Ethan Lawrence).

Far and away the most interesting puzzle piece here is the connection between Enn and Zan. Mr. Sharp (a Bob Geldof lookalike) and Ms. Fanning are terrific together and the film suffers when they aren't on screen. Their live duet onstage is a true highlight and her wide-eyed curiosity combined with his zany punk persona provide most of the film's energy.

"Punk ... the best thing to happen to ugly people" is likely the best line in the film, although Zan requesting "Do some more punk to me" isn't far behind. There are messages here about parenting, diversity and globalization, but mostly it's a creative and wild ride that's not likely to please everyone ... especially those looking for a Nicholas Sparks romance or anyone who might take the title literally. The film is scheduled to show at the Texas Theatre in Dallas beginning June 1, 2018.