How to Talk to Girls at Parties

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2:21

How to Talk to Girls at Parties

R

Released May 25, 2018

1h 42m

Romance

Sci-Fi

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

47%

Tomatometer

97 Reviews

39%

Popcornmeter

500+ Ratings

Worlds collide when Enn, a shy teenager in 1970s London, meets the beautiful and rebellious Zan at a party. They set in motion the ultimate showdown between their rivaling worlds and test the limits of how far they will go for true love.

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Critics Consensus

How to Talk to Girls at Parties has energy and ambition, but is ultimately too unfocused to do much with either -- or develop its themes into a cohesive whole.

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Christopher Orr

The Atlantic

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Jun 18, 2018

Full Review

Adam Graham

Detroit News

Mitchell brings a lively visual sensibility to the screen, so at least it looks stellar. Everything else -- the film's tone, its message, its very purpose -- is caught between two different worlds.

Rated: C-

Jun 1, 2018

Full Review

Nell Minow

Movie Mom

Punk in this film is not angry so much as revolutionary, fueled by ideas and optimism. That may seem like an alien idea today, but Mitchell makes it seem right on time.

Rated: B+

May 31, 2018

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Benedict Seal

Vague Visages

How to Talk to Girls at Parties is spirited but doesn’t have anything new to say. And it has an embarrassing relationship with its female characters. The film undoubtedly captures something; it’s just nothing I have any desire to watch.

Dec 5, 2023

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Brian T. Carney

Washington Blade

A delicious and delirious mess, How to Talk to Girls at Parties is destined to be a cult classic.

Dec 8, 2022

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Juan Barquin

INTO

How to Talk to Girls at Parties navigates finding one's true community, literally allowing an alien to try and find a home in a punk human world, and there's familiarity...

Sep 17, 2021

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Rosetta C

The best part about this movie was the soundtrack. Between the Breaths played, and I ascended. It was pretty generic, I don't expect much from these types of films.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/29/25

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P.G. S

A delightful coming of age story, but not for those with a low weird tolerance. The outsider frame of reference words for both punks and aliens, so their romance tracks to me. A rewatchable cult classic. This movie lit me up. I'm glad a friend turned me on to it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/22/24

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Bobby G

The low scores on this film make no sense. Nicole Kidman is stellar. It’s so weird and so beautiful. Fanning is fantastic. This movie is a must see for anyone you can appreciate original thought and creative thinking. Beautifully weird and a blast to experience. Excellent film.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/29/24

Full Review

Jim S

What a great movie. The bad reviews are the audience's fault. This is not a middle-of-the-roader film. It's bonkers. The world could use more punk rock right now. The film is part comedy, part sci-fi, part 70s punk fanzine, part comic book, part wacky high school play, part serious drama. It's the kind of film that should be a cult classic. I think our current moment is just devoid of creativity and, well, punk rock. It should gain a following.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/23

Full Review

Zuzka U

Sooo punk, i love it sometimes maybe chaotic but amazing.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/11/23

Full Review

Roscoe V

You've seen this movie before, and you've seen it done much better. It feels like a piece of inauthentic YA fiction that's madly in love with itself and doesn't realize that it's just a tired old retelling of the classic MPDG love story (how cute, she calls it "the punk" instead of just "punk" because she's an alien, hilarious). The emotional climaxes fall flat because they're not earned, and the characters just fumble about on their clear-cut track. Maybe you'll enjoy the cheap, choppy slo-mo transition scenes (a trick to hide that they couldn't afford to match the shooting locations to the period in which the story takes place? ), but I honestly can't recommend a single thing about this unfortunate twee-fest of a film.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

07/27/23

Full Review

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John Cameron Mitchell

Director

Elle Fanning

Zan

Alex Sharp

Enn

Nicole Kidman

Queen Boadicea

Ruth Wilson

PT Stella

Matt Lucas

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How to Talk to Girls at Parties: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Worlds collide when Enn, a shy teenager in 1970s London, meets the beautiful and rebellious Zan at a party. They set in motion the ultimate showdown between their rivaling worlds and test the limits of how far they will go for true love.

Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Producer: Iain Canning, Howard Gertler, John Cameron Mitchell, Emile Sherman
Screenwriter: Philippa Goslett, John Cameron Mitchell
Distributor: A24
Production Co: See-Saw Films, Little Punk
Rating: R (Sexual Content|Nudity|Language Throughout|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): May 25, 2018, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 5, 2018
Box Office (Gross USA): $80.4K
Runtime: 1h 42m

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