So, I am a sucker for a good monologue and Touch Me opens with a doozie. Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) sits in a therapy session explaining how she and her gay bestie Craig (Jordan Gavaris) are having issues. It’s all because of a tracksuit wearing guy named Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci) who has a magical touch that eases anxiety. Yes, that’s just the first scene. Soon we jump back and learn so much more while discovering that angelic Brian might be an alien bent on taking over planet Earth. Neat, huh? Addison Heimann writes and directs a candy-colored homage to friendship and the enduring aesthetic of Japanese cinema from the 1970’s. Touch Me is giving Hentai, Henny, and the true dangers of sugar free lemonade mix. Sit back, relax and enjoy the quirky vibe.

Laura (Marlene Forte) isn’t so much a bad person as much as she goal oriented. As Brian’s personal assistant, Laura carries out his daily bidding while maintaining a vigilant eye for potential sycophants and gold diggers. After Joey and Craig suffer a plumbing disaster at Craig’s place, the two vape-addled ne’er-do-wells arrive at Brian’s posh cliffside palace. The etherial Brian welcomes troubled Joey and Craig into his home but Laura has reservations. Still the new-agey Brian prevails and before long, the four of them are sitting in the mediation room confessing their deepest secrets to a bloodsucking crystal. When that doesn’t work, Brian meditates via funky dance moves in his colorfully lit studio. Amidst the Japanese decor and the quivering red maple trees, Joey and Craig find the meaning of true friendship. At the same time Laura, Brian, Craig, and Joey explore the definitions of obligation and commitment.

So deep, so superficial, so gloriously Queer. Touch Me vacillates from rom-com, to horror, to farce, to coming of age, and so forth. Heimann writes a silly hodgepodge of notions exploring loyalty, identity, ageism, and sexuality to breezy effect. We have two queer twenty-somethings in search of meaning, we have the alien and his servant, and finally we have the posh, fantasy world in which to process the bigger questions of identity and planetary loyalty.

What really stuck with me was the dialogue. As if channeling the almost-gone voice of Tarantino (Tarantino has but one more film to write and direct as of this writing.), Heimann sculpts intricate passages of dialogue that crackle and pop. Joey and Craig are besties by default, trudge through the interpersonal and existential moments barking words at one another. As Joey finds use in Brian’s healing touch, his words take on the silly platitudes of a shortsighted shaman.

The story is silly, the jokes are hit and miss, but Touch Me has enough going for it to make it worth a look. It’s a strange blending of styles with a great ensemble and snappy dialogue. I wouldn’t want to know these people, but hanging out for 90 minutes to see the crazy stuff they get into was a good time. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some dance therapy I need to do.