Tag Archives: toni collette

Dakota Fanning Filters Star Trek in Please Stand By

drama, movies, review, , ,

Directed by Ben Lewin, Please Stand By introduces the world of Wendy, played by Dakota Fanning, a confusing place.  Wendy is an imaginative and resolutely independent young woman. She is a brilliant young woman with autism.

The autism message is upbeat and supports individualism – accept people for who they are. If you don’t, you take away their freedom.

Wendy yearns to leave the steadfast schedule of her group home. She wants to return to a life she had with her sister’s family. They have a new baby, so she needs to prove she can be responsible first before she can live with her sister again.

Wendy is a staunch fan of anything to do with Star Trek. She even spends a great deal of her free time writing fantasy stories, proving she is a capable person.

The movie starts off tilter but we soon learn that Wendy uses her Star Trek filter to understand people. People are an indecipherable code.

The story takes an interesting turn when Wendy learns about a screenplay competition. She is determined to finish her 500-page Star Trek script, so she can enter the competition.  If anyone knows about screenwriting, you know 500 pages are about 390 pages too long.

Wendy needs to get the script to Hollywood.  The problem is getting it there by the deadline, Wendy must travel hundreds of miles outside her protected boundaries to submit her script in person.  The story becomes a road-trip movie.

Wendy has an adorable little dog named Pete. She carries him in her purse with only a few dollars in her pocket.  In her terms, she is boldly going where she has never gone before.  Her unconventional therapist, played by Toni Collette, is not far behind in hopes of catching up with her. The same for Wendy’s sister, played by Alice Eve.

On her trip, Wendy meets all sorts of people who help her. These are colorful moments in the movie. They all encourage her to follow her dream and find her place in a world she hopes will accept her.  She wants to be accept just like everyone else.

Fanning is great as Wendy, and its refreshing to see her work with Collette and Eve.

Miss You Already

drama, movies, , , ,

MissyoualreadyDirected by Catherine Hardwicke, known for directing the first Twilight movie, Miss You Already starts with Jess, played by Drew Barrymore, as a young child moving to the UK from America. She meets Milly, played by Toni Collette, and they become what is known today as BFFs. Their friendship is long-lasting with its extreme ups and terrible downs. Morwenna Banks, best known by the UK as the voice for Peppa Pig, wrote the non-linear screenplay that keeps these two best friends together.

Jess and Milly have personalities that are totally opposite of each other, which creates a great story. Jess is more conservative and holds back while Milly is over-the-top and willing to do anything, and she does anything.  Milly’s mother, Miranda, played by Jacqueline Bisset, stands by her daughter’s penchant for the dramatic aspect of life.

Barrymore and Collette are true to form and work very well together, creating a very endearing story that reminds of the movie Beaches.  Yes. It is that kind of movie, pull out the tissue ladies.

The story is about women being friends. Throughout the movie their friendship keeps building because they share everything together. I must confess that I didn’t want to see this movie because the ending is not happy. It’s tragic but holds a strong message we all want to share. Friendships are very important. We can never take friends for granted. So, hold them near and dear to your heart.