As the title would suggest, Lynn Shelton’s (Your Sister’s Sister, Humpday) latest film Touchy Feely, is about touch, human connection and feelings with a liberal helping of spirituality. Starring Ellen Page, Rosemarie DeWitt, Josh Pais and Scoot McNairy, Touchy Feely is heavy on the feelings but unfortunately light on laughs.

Each of the three central characters deals with a different issue surrounding touch and the expression of feelings. Abby (Rosemarie DeWitt) is a free-spirited massage therapist, passionate about alternative healing until suddenly, one day she loses her ability to touch people. Paul (Josh Pais), Abby’s brother is almost her polar opposite; an uptight, introverted dentist who’s failing practice is a source of tension for both him and his daughter Jenny (Ellen Page). His business in peril, a miraculous occurrence right as Abby loses her ability to touch, offers new hope: Paul’s touch gains a healing power when he starts curing patients who suffer from a chronic dental condition. Jenny meanwhile, a recent high school graduate, has put moving forward with university on hold to stay at home and help her father with his dental office. When Pauls recently acquired magic touch breathes new life into the clinic, Jenny starts to expand her horizons, considering submitting college applications and professing her romantic feelings for Jesse, Abby’s recently ex-boyfriend.

The rest of the film follows a predictable course: each character navigates their new relationships with touch and the feelings associated with it, overcome their personal obstacles and become happier more fulfilled people. Touchy Feely is great if you’re looking for a trite, alternative healing inspired, feel-good movie and is already available on iTunes as well as in theatres. However, if you’re interested in a film with some substance, move on.

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