Touchy Feely
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: September 6, 2013 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
55
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 18 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
10
Negative:
1
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
NPRElla TaylorSep 5, 2013
The cast is more than game. DeWitt's Abby is earnest and searching and a little bit nuts, but we're never encouraged to see her as dumb, credulous or pathetic. Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanSep 4, 2013
Touchy Feely is minor, but these people are good company. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineAndrew SchenkerSep 1, 2013
Lynn Shelton crafts a film of astonishingly sustained mood, tying its beguiling atmosphere to the mental states of her characters. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeJun 17, 2013
Laughs come less frequently here than in Humpday and Your Sister's Sister, but the writer-director's empathy for floundering characters is intact. Read full review
67
The PlaylistRodrigo PerezJun 17, 2013
There's a great movie somewhere inside Touchy Feely desperately trying to swim to the surface, but its obscurity also comes with an inarticulateness that robs it of its potential. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyOct 11, 2013
Touchy Feely seems poised to explore the same issues of embarrassing intimacy Shelton mined in her two last films, Humpday and Your Sister’s Sister. But here there’s a new fantastical element, the kind of magical device that might pop up in a minor Woody Allen film. Read full review
63
RogerEbert.comHank SartinSep 6, 2013
In the days since, I have found myself thinking about these characters at unexpected moments. Maybe the film, like its characters, just needs a little time to grow on you. Read full review
60
Los Angeles TimesSheri LindenSep 12, 2013
Shelton's affection for her characters is evident but it's not enough. Read full review
60
The New York TimesStephen HoldenSep 5, 2013
Its humor is softer and more ambiguous than that of Ms. Shelton’s earlier films, and its characters are harder to pin down. Read full review
60
Time OutSam AdamsSep 3, 2013
wWen the filmmaker lines up her characters to confront their respective fears of intimacy, the loosey-goosey vibe clashes with the script’s clunky machinations; like her characters, Shelton doesn’t know what to do when things actually happen. Read full review
60
The GuardianLeslie FelperinJun 17, 2013
The semi-improvised dialogue has the juicy tang of authenticity in the hands of this highly competent cast, and the players and Shelton never sneer at the characters' new-agey beliefs. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloSep 4, 2013
Without an improvisational buffer, in which actors feel their way naturally and uncertainly from moment to moment, Shelton’s scenario feels as painfully contrived as it is. Read full review
50
VarietyPeter DebrugeJun 17, 2013
Trading her improv-based filmmaking style for a more traditional screenplay-grounded model, Lynn Shelton delivers an uneven mix of half-formed conflicts. Read full review
40
CineVuePatrick GambleMay 21, 2014
The film feels like yet another product of the recent studio appropriation of mumblecore as a commodity, ultimately removing any semblance of individualism and feeling like just another product off the factory conveyor belt. Read full review
40
EmpireDavid HughesMay 12, 2014
Intermittently funny but erratically structured, it's a rare disappointment from Shelton. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierSep 5, 2013
Only DeWitt looks at home, but Shelton allows “Touchy Feely” to be so wishy-washy that we can never get a hold of the star, or the movie. Read full review
40
The DissolveNoel MurrayAug 4, 2013
Shelton seems so preoccupied with making Touchy Feely feel natural and real that she’s forgotten to add any incident. Read full review
20
Village VoiceViolet LuccaSep 4, 2013
Worse than the goofy premise, Shelton fails to enliven the incredibly talk-heavy (but subtext-free) inaction with any sort of visual flair. Read full review
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