How to Talk to Girls at Parties
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Writer: Philippa Goslett, John Cameron Mitchell
Based on: Neil Gaiman’s short story
Cast: Alex Sharp, Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Wilson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Matt Lucas
Part of: Viennale
Seen on: 2.11.2017
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Plot:
Enn (Alex Sharp) loves nothing more than punk music. Having heard about a special concert, he stumbles into a party that seems a little stranger than the usual stuff. But there’s also the cute Zan (Elle Fanning) there and Alex hits it off with her. But as the two spend more time together, Enn realizes that Zan isn’t just a little strange: she’s actually an alien.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties was sweet and funny and colorful and loud and a whole lot of fun. It’s a film designed to make you smile and leave it with a bounce in your step.

Viennale movies tend to not be all that entertaining and light, and I had a bit of a bad run leading up to this film. That certainly emphasized the feeling of How to Talk to Girls at Parties being a breath of fresh air that is so full of energy, it just has to infect the audience watching it.

The cast was really great, above all Elle Fanning – as usual she’s really something else in her performance. This time even literally. But the rest of the cast, including a couple of nice supporting roles, were really good as well. I can only imagine that they must have had a whole lot of fun playing their roles. The aliens were just amazing, who wouldn’t have had fun playing them?

Also amazing were the costumes and sets. Plus, I really enjoyed the music that fit the film very well, even though I’m usually not a great fan of punk.

The ending got a bit much with its harping on about motherhood and love. But at least it’s effective enough that I could go along with it emotionally the entire time. So I couldn’t be too annoyed at that bit. Instead I just enjoyed myself. A lot.

Summarizing: Infectious energy that leaves you with a goofy smile.