Synopsis
A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in order to boldly go and deliver her 500-page Star Trek script to a writing competition in Hollywood. On an adventure full of laughter and tears, Wendy follows the guiding spirit of Mr. Spock on her journey into the unknown.
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Cast
- Dakota FanningWendy
- Alice EveAudrey
- Toni ColletteScottie
- River AlexanderSam
- Shawn RoeDerrick
- Tony RevoloriNemo
- Lexi AaronHerself
- Michael Stahl-DavidJack
- Jessica RotheJulie
- Lara LihiyaMadeline
Recommendations
- 75
Observer
It’s a long haul, but Please Stand By, meticulously directed by Ben Lewin (The Sessions), chronicles the pitfalls, terrors and triumphs of the trip with heart-wrenching realism. - 70
Time
[Fanning] plays Wendy as a person and not a condition. - 70
Slate
It’s a relief to see an autistic woman played as more than simply a bundle of symptoms. - 50
Slant Magazine
Dakota Fanning's Wendy is less a truly thought-through character than a compendium of quirks. - 50
The A.V. Club
It’s hard to be persuasive, though, when your protagonist comes across as a collection of quirky tics rather than a credible human being. - 50
Village Voice
The film itself is often flat, akin to a very well-directed after-school special crafted exclusively to dramatize what it might be like to either live on the high-functioning end of the spectrum or care for someone who’s there. - 50
New York Post
Patton Oswalt makes an amusing cameo as a Klingon-speaking cop, and Toni Collette is her usual graceful self as Wendy’s harried counselor, but in all this is a half-baked effort at humanizing autism — at its best when Wendy’s at her computer channeling the Vulcan voice of Mr. Spock, that intergalactic hero who was always so puzzled by human emotions. - 40
The New York Times
Despite [Fanning's] commitment to the role — and the generally fine supporting performances — this timorous tale sidesteps uncomfortable realities in favor of soothing whimsy and preordained uplift.
