‘How To Talk to Girls at Parties’ Trailer Is Full of Punk Rock Alien Weirdness
Take all the glam-rock exuberance of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, then add in the trippy, fantastical mind of Neil Gaiman (American Gods) and you get How to Talk to Girls at Parties. The latest from John Cameron Mitchell, based on a Gaiman short story, is exactly that: a colorful and funky look at the punk rock scene.
“Do more punk to me,” is a thing Elle Fanning actually says to a young Londoner in the first full trailer for the A24 film. Im any other situation that would sound absolutely absurd, but here, Fanning plays a literal alien who’s landed in 1970s London smack dab in the middle of the punk scene. She meets Enn (Alex Sharp), who takes her and her extraterrestrial friends to punk parties, and other weird things ensue. Some of those weird things include Nicole Kidman rocking a black-and-white Bowie-esque haircut and leather studded collar, Fanning’s Zan ripping open someone’s mouth, some trippy Lawnmower Man-like visuals, and a girl with two middle fingers (on one hand). You know, the usual.
Here’s the full synopsis:
From the raucous dual imaginations of fantasy laureate Neil Gaiman (“American Gods,” Coraline) and glam-rock multi-hyphenate John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus) comes the electrifying and singular pop extravaganza film, How to Talk to Girls at Parties. Enn (Alex Sharp) is a shy suburban London teenager in 1977, sneaking out with his best friends to after-hours punk parties. One night they stumble upon a bizarre gathering of sexy teenagers who seem like they are from another planet. In fact, they are from another planet, visiting Earth to complete a mysterious rite of passage. That doesn’t stop Enn from falling madly in love with Zan (Elle Fanning), a beautiful and rebellious alien teenager who, despite her allegiance to her strange colony, is fascinated by Enn. Together they embark on a delirious adventure through the kinetic punk rock world of 1970s London, inadvertently setting off a series of events that will lead to the ultimate showdown of punks vs. aliens, and test the limits of how far each of them will go for true love.
I’m not quite sure any of that madness will be any good, but it certainly looks intriguing, if just to see what sort of wackiness Kidman does. Unfortunately, the film got some pretty dismal reviews when it screened at Cannes last year, currently sitting at an unpretty 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. But hey, maybe it’ll find it audience and become a cult favorite in time. No release date has been announced yet, but How to Talk to Girls at Parties arrives in theaters this summer.