Supelice
Dreadfully Boring
Breakinger
A Brilliant Conflict
Fulke
Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.
aimless-46
"I am a spirit of no common rate.
The summer still doth tend upon my state"declares Titania to Bottom in Act III Scene 1 of "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The gracious fairy queen has become a victim of a potion that has everybody falling in love with the wrong people. Her husband thought it would teach her a lesson for denying him. But after being dosed with the potion, she falls in love with Bottom (a commoner), who has been turned into a donkey. Love being blind, the joke is on her. In the play within a play of "Jane Wants A Boyfriend" (2015), Titania is being played by a stressed out Bianca, the title character's older sister.Shakespeare lets the audience share in his joke while viewers of "Jane Wants A Boyfriend" have to work a bit to figure it out. The joke being that Bianca's protectiveness toward her little sister is largely misplaced. Not only is it unnecessarily stressing out Bianca, it has become an obstacle to Jane's growth. Jane has Aspergers, but processes a lot more than she is given credited for by Bianca. Childlike in many ways she is perceptive enough at age 25 to realize that her existence is becoming precarious, that her dependency on her parents cannot continue much longer. Accordingly, she is forcing herself to interact more with people. Guidance for this interaction is provided by watching old movies and observing people, mimicking their speech patterns and facial expressions. She refers to this as practicing. Jack is the boyfriend that Jane wants. But like Titania's resentment of her husband's infidelities, Bianca disapproves of Jack's bed hopping and fear of commitment. She underestimates her little sister's off-kilter appeal and is afraid that any relationship she enters into with Jack will be brief. Another parallel between the two stories is the unlikelihood of the match; the play's fairy queen loving a commoner becomes a neurotypical loving an Aspie. In "Dream" this is part of the joke, in "Jane" it is in large part the reason I embraced the film.I like this film better than anything over the past couple of years. The ensemble casting and scripting was excellent, the acting-for-the-camera direction as good as you will find, the pacing perfect, and the editing solid. I especially like the scene transitions where the audio tracks begin a second before the new video track cuts in. The best of these when the film's title is said by Bianca over Jane's face and then later when the cheers and applause of the theater audience plays over the kiss. The film is full of tiny touches that you barely notice during the first viewing, like when Bianca thanks the janitor for not running the sweeper while she was talking to Jane. They go out on Bianca and not the title character. With that you realize that this is actually Bianca's story, that she is the character who changed during the course of the narrative. And with this you suddenly realize that Dushku's underplayed performance is every bit as good as that of Krause, something quite unexpected as she is rarely asked to do something this restrained. And be sure to watch the entire credit sequence because additional lines from the play are featured along with a several black and white sequences. Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Dar Abbi Williams
I am a aspiring producer in film school and i love watching all sorts of films. I came across this film on t.v, I have to say a very good job done. The story is beautiful that sends a very positive and direct message to the audience. I was smiling all the way through and even teared up a bit. I loved the film and loved the message that was being portrayed, it was executed well and touches the heart.
inamaycooper
I really enjoyed this film. I feel that it was both well written and well acted. The writing and the acting share a common quality. The quality is lack of pretension. The writing deals with a real and increasingly common problem in an unpretentious way, and the acting does the same. Because of this, the film is engaging, endearing, and --most importantly-- moving. I learned from this film. I grew from this film, and, at the risk of being pretentious myself, I would say that I am a better person because of this film. It is indeed easy to lose touch with the normal emotional needs and abilities of people who are emotionally challenged. What hits me so hard is that this one problem can serve as powerful paradigm for all of the foolish insensitivity we may have to others because of our callous and simple-minded generalization and categorization of our fellow humans.
A_Different_Drummer
Disclaimer: I caught this just after seeing Batman Vs. Superman, which depressed me. Not merely because it was a depressing film -- hey, it is not everyday you get to see Superman die -- but also because Hollywood had chosen to spend so much time and money on a such a dreary and chaotic work. So, you see, JANE WANTS A BOYFRIEND was an unexpected joy. Not merely a great little indie, but the perfect antidote to my superhero-induced trauma. Once more I began to think there was hope for mankind, and possibly even Hollywood as well.The movie -- that rare combination of good things that come together in the right time and the right place and entertain the daylights out of you. Tight script. Great casting. Krause is a jewel. She does things with her face that makes it seem as though it was made of rubber. And her timing is impeccable. One moment we are caught up in her subjective, confined, autistic world. And the next moment we see her objectively as the world sees her -- a bright spark of a woman, quirky and sweet, with a lot to offer and a sense of self-worth. Great performance! Dushku also surprised. She seems to have left behind her "edge" from her Buffy days and her BRING IT days, and instead has a "Natalie Portman vibe" which works perfectly in this film. She is empathetic, grounding, and engaging. The "sister" scenes work seamlessly. Director William Sullivan is worth keeping an eye on.PS - Love the "soup" monologue!
