Please Stand By (2017)

This is a great film about creative and individual minds and about ambition and hope. If you are a star trek fan you'll also love this non sci/fi film.

I'm giving away no spoilers for Trekkies :-)

Fmovies: For those who panned this movie either through ignorance of Autism and it's many faces or those who "used to live" with someone dealing with Autism, it is much different when you have a family member that deals with this struggle day in and day out. My granddaughter whom I will only identity by her nickname Yaya is a hazel eyed angel whose emotions can turn on a dime, much like Dakota Fanning portrayed as 20 something Wendy who goes through the trials and tribulations of submitting a script for a Star Trek movie. It was wonderfully directed with the characterizations of a high functioning Autistic person and those closely assimilated into her life, those expecting Oscar winning performances may be a bit disillusioned yet this movie is pretty much spot on, in the facing of adversity, the happiness an Autistic person experiences yet somehow gets their signals mixed up and can only relate it via calmness and acceptability of the given situation. Yaya is not quite at the level of Wendy and may never be, that is the fear of my daughter, her husband and myself. It is a movie of love, understanding and compassion and more importantly the depiction of a young person attempting to bravely navigate a foreign world such as crew members of the of the Star Fleet ship the Enterprise would themselves. It is a vehicle that spotlights Autism, the love and fears of those involved and the hope that our own crewmember will one day find her own way in this complex world of aliens.

Very pleasantly surprised by this movie! A simple but beautifully delivered storyline with excellent performance by all. Dakota Fanning is especially brilliant as Wendy, an autistic young lady with a love for the Star Trek franchise and the crew of the USS Enterprise. Fannng is very believable in the role, finding the perfect balance between the characteristics of the condition whilst alwsys giving Wendy real depth to her personality and character. A delightful and moving performance which deserves recognition. In support, Toni Collette gives another solid performance, as Wendy's carer. I found the movie both intriguing and inspirational and at times, quite moving...from the opening scene through to the closing credits...I would highly recommend. PS; don't be put off by the Star Trek references...the movie is really great even if you're not a Trekkie!

Please Stand By fmovies. Similar to the Asperger's Syndrome film "Adam" of a decade earlier, "Please Stand By" tells of a 21-year-old autistic woman thrust into the sudden need to be self-sufficient, styled in the format of a traditional Road Movie. Quality casting and acting fail to overcome scripting issues that result in a timid, unfortunately bland result.

At the advance screening I attended, in the audience discussion following the showing a viewer disparaged the movie by comparing it to a Hallmark Channel TV movie. That was a bit harsh, but it did suffer from being well-meaning but low impact.

Dakota Fanning exquisitely plays the young girl living at a communal house run by ever-patient Earth Mother Toni Collette, with her regimented daily routine clearly set out, right down to which sweater she must wear each day of the week. Cutesy gimmick dominating the film in Michael Golamco's facile script has her obsessed with her 400-plus-page screenplay to be completed for a Paramount Pictures writing competition.

In order to meet an impending deadline she sets out by bus from Oakland to Los Angeles to hand in her script, and scripter Golamco, a graduate of the "Grimm" TV series, piles on the problems she encounters on the road. Notably she is robbed by a mean-spirited couple, replete with baby in tow, and even suffers a concussion from a crash after being befriended by wonderful Marla Gibbs, out shopping via Shuttle Bus from her retirement home.

The real issues underlying the care for an autistic relative are brought to light by the role of Dakota's older sister, very well-played by Alice Eve in a departure from her usual "too beautiful for words" casting. However, I was heavily distracted by the sister act in that even in home movies of the duo as young kids, all I could think of was Dakota and her real-life acting sister Elle, the logical if too obvious casting for such a picture, in which Elle would have gotten Dakota's role here.

Self-indulgence by Golamco is fatal to the overall effect of the picture, especially in many contrived scenes aiming too blatantly at warmth, typified by an otherwise amusing conversation in the Klingon language (!) between Fanning and an ultra-kindly and far, far from realistic cop who was chasing her. Ultimately the semi-happy, upbeat ending, a bit in the "Go the distance" cliche vein of Stallone's "Rocky" ties the bow on this ephemeral package.

It suffered from what I term the Indie Syndrome, as over the past four decades the notion of Indie Films has been raised on a pedestal and marketed to an audience as an alternative to commercial cinema. Certainly indies such as the first films of artists like John Sayles, Spike Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Wayne Wang and the Coen Bros. made their mark, but the originality and even quirkiness of these fledgling efforts of 30-plus years back have given way to a mundane sameness in recent "indie" product. "Please Stand By" is typical: attracting top talent to play meaty roles for the love of their art (rather than big pay-days) in a resulting film that is minor and low-key almost on purpose. The pretentiousness of a "Big Picture" is thankfully lacking, but also is the demonstration of importance.

The movie seems good. It's a classic story where the main character is autistic and struggles through life. The character presentation has been done excellent. Cast fits the characters perfectly. Dakota Fanning does an excellent job portraying an autistic woman in a young age. A feel good movie to watch and enjoy in free time.

Heartwarming enough to keep it interesting till the end, this movie is simple, dramatic enough, and just that. No overplaying the autistic card, not overreacting, no tragedies. A simple story, about an autistic girl who wants to make her dreams come true and live a normal life. And it's worth watching it.