And then something strange happens. Abby's boyfriend Jesse (Scoot McNairy) suggests, in an heartfelt but unthought-out moment at dinner with her brother and niece, that Abby should move in with him. And Abby begins to dread touching people. As you can imagine, this is a catastrophic problem for a massage therapist, and for Abby it triggers an existential crisis. She can't stand to be touched by Jesse. She can't do her job. She stares at her skin (in wonderful closeups), seeing the strange landscape that is skin.
Meanwhile, Paul, whose dental practice is foundering because he's unwilling to do anything to get new clients, also experiences a strange change. Jenny—who also works as her father's dental assistant, though she clearly longs to do something else—persuades Henry (Tomo Nakayama), a barista from her favorite coffee place, to come in for a free checkup. He's got jaw pain, he admits. Jenny praises her father's miraculous touch, and in fact Paul's touch cures Henry's pain. In short order, Paul has a waiting room full of people hoping he can stop their jaw pain.
The premise has a touch of fairy-tale whimsy to it, but Lynn Shelton, whose previous "Humpday" and "Your Sister's Sister" also dealt with close relationships facing an unexpected disruption, is more interested in the human dimension that anchors fairy tales. What would it do to you if you lost the thing that made your life complete? Or, what would it do to you if you could suddenly see your own greater potential?
I wanted to like this movie more than I did. DeWitt radiates a warm comforting presence that makes her completely believable as a massage therapist you'd want to see. And when the character faces this strange crisis, DeWitt can do a lot with scenes of quiet dread. But that's a lot of what she's given to play for the middle section of the movie, and an Ecstasy trip late in the film seems like a contrivance to get her out of the story trap Shelton has written her into.
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