Men, Women & Children

Review by Matt Finley

Adapted from a novel by Chad Kultgen, MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN tries to make some sort of statement about the role of technology in our everyday lives. I can't remember angrily swearing under my breath at a film as much as I did during the last third of Jason Reitman's maudlin, self-important slurry of unlikable characters living out broad melodramas in a grim caricature of the digital age. Though imbued with brief moments of impressive filmmaking and fantastic acting, no amount of skill from cast or crew could rescue this movie from the sheer, unapologetic emotional manipulation perpetrated by its screenplay.

Touchy Feely (November 29th and December 1st at the Cleveland Museum of Art)

[TOUCHY FEELY screens Friday November 29th at 7:30 pm and Sunday December 1st at 1:30 pm at the Cleveland Museum of Art.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

TOUCHY FEELY is yet another facile indie film populated by characters who are little more than the sum of their quirks dealing with banal, self-created issues that are the very definition of “first world problems”. The particulars here are that massage therapist Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) suddenly develops a revulsion to human skin right after deciding to move in with her boyfriend Jesse (Scott McNairy). Simultaneously Abby's brother Paul (John Pais) seems to develop the power to heal the patients at his dental practice merely by touch, leading him to take reiki classes from Abby's teacher Bronwyn (Allison Janney).

Not all is well with Paul, though, as his daughter/dental assistant Jenny (Ellen Page) is starting to feel stifled both living and working with a dad who doesn't respect her abilities. Jenny also worries that her dad wouldn't support her decision to go to college, so she fills out applications but never mails them. The whole thing is sprinkled liberally with new age philosophizing and talk about “energy”.

Your Sister's Sister (opens in Cleveland June 29th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre)

[YOUR SISTER'S SISTER opens in Cleveland on Friday June 29th exclusively at the Cedar Lee Theatre.]

Review by Bob Ignizio

It's been a year since Jack's (Mark Duplas) brother died, but he still hasn't recovered from the loss. In hopes of getting him back on track, Jack's best friend (and his brother's ex-girlfriend) Iris (Emily Blunt) offers him the use of her family's island vacation home. There he can spend some quiet time alone in thought, free from the distractions of the outside world. Instead of helping, though, Jack's getaway winds up complicating his life even further.

Upon arriving at the house, Jack finds Iris' lesbian half sister Hannah (Rosemarie DeWitt) already there. Iris has just broken up with her long time girlfriend and is busy drowning her sorrows with tequila. Jack joins her, and as so often happens to those under the influence of the infamous libation, bad decisions are made resulting in a one night stand.