[yasr_overall_rating]
A young autistic woman runs away from her caregiver in an attempt to submit her manuscript to a “Star Trek” writing competition.
Dakota Fanning has come a long way since her role as a young girl in “Man on Fire” with Denzel Washington and “War of the Worlds” with Tom Cruise. She has matured into a fine actress and with “Please Stand By,” she gives a bravura performance, alongside Toni Collette and Alice Eve, who are equally as good. She plays Wendy, a girl with Asperger’s syndrome who lives in a nice house in San Francisco with other youths suffering from autism. The house is their home and sanctuary and they are looked after by Scottie (Toni Collette), their caregiver. Wendy is a huge “Star Trek” fan and writes her own stories involving Kirk and Spock, and the many adventures they share together. Wendy’s sister, Audrey (Alice Eve), lives in the suburbs but is afraid to let Wendy come and live with her because she has a newborn baby and is afraid of her sister’s unexpected and sudden angry outbursts. She comes to visit her one day and although Scottie informs her that she is doing well, when Wendy asks to go home with her, and Audrey tries to sugarcoat her reasons why she can’t, Wendy explodes and accidentally smacks Audrey in the face and has to be calmed down by Scottie. Audrey quickly leaves and Wendy retreats to her room.
Feeling more alone than ever, her enthusiasm spikes when she sees a commercial on TV where the makers of “Star Trek” are giving one lucky Trekkie the opportunity to write a script about why and how “Star Trek” has affected them and the winning script will be awarded $100,000 but it has to reach the offices of Paramount Pictures within the next few weeks. She sets out to write her best script ever and losing track of time over the coming weeks, one Saturday evening, she realizes that because the following Monday is a holiday, and the final date to postmark her script is Tuesday, she comprehends that she will have no time to mail it in and her only option is to go to Los Angeles by herself. Because she works in the neighborhood Cinnabon and has never traveled further than that store, she packs her bags, and her puppy, and heads out on a road trip that will ultimately open her eyes to the world and change her life forever.
For anyone who knows “Star Trek,” they will know that Alice Eve, who plays Wendy’s sister, also appeared in “Star Trek: Into Darkness” as Carol Marcus and I thought that was a touch of magic. I first remember seeing Toni Collette in “Muriel’s Wedding” back in 1994 and was immediately smitten with her and since then, she has done nothing but deliver amazing performance after performance and I eagerly await her upcoming horror thriller, “Hereditary.” The true standout here, however, is Dakota Fanning. Many will recognize her as Jane Volturi from the “Twilight” saga but with “Please Stand By,” she proves that she can do more than just bare her fangs. She reminded me of Dustin Hoffman in “Rain Man” and because both her character and Hoffman’s Raymond Babbitt suffer from similar forms of autism, emoting and facial expressions are mainly absent, so the majority of her characterization, is through her eyes and physical performance. Definitely not an easy task but Ms. Fanning is up to the challenge.
The road trip presents many obstacles to Wendy, impediments that were they to happen to you or me, wouldn’t be considered a big deal but because Wendy has never truly been on her own, so far away from home, they are earth-shattering. Naturally, when Scottie realizes that Wendy is missing and informs Audrey, both are clueless as to where she might be but when Scottie comes across a flyer for the “Star Trek” competition, the two women, along with Scottie’s son Sam (River Alexander), immediately head off to Los Angeles and experience their own journey of self-discovery. Thankfully, the ending doesn’t tie up every little wrinkle that was presented to us, instead, while things do somewhat get back to normal, both Audrey and Wendy come to realize just how important they are to one another and become even closer in their relationship.
Available on Blu-ray, DVD & Digital HD May 1st
