Wendy went to live in a group home when her sister got pregnant. Wendy (Dakota Fanning) has never been allowed to meet her baby niece for fear of her (autistic) tantrums, but under Scottie’s (Toni Collette) care, she’s doing much better. They work on routines, sustained eye contact, and interpreting emotion. Wendy lives by the rules she carefully writes down in the notebook around her neck. She has a job at Cinnabon, a pet dog, and a penchant for speed-knitting sweaters for said dog – Pete, a chihuahua. In her spare time, she has written a 400+ page manuscript, a Star Trek episode. She’s a fan of the show and a particular fan of Spock’s, a dude whose half-Vulcan blood means he too has trouble understanding human emotion.
A visit with her sister (Alice Eve) that’s meant to be celebratory turns sour when Audrey 
has again not brought baby Ruby, and hints that she may be selling the family home and moving away. A meltdown seems imminent, but Wendy is fixated on her script, and getting it to Paramount Pictures on time for a contest. When she’s mysteriously not in her bed the next morning – well, let’s just say it’s not much of a mystery.
I love Toni Collette and she’s faultless in this, but it’s not her movie. It belongs to Dakota Fanning, who is Dakota Fantastic. Her portrayal may not be 100% authentic to autism, and could never be representative of everyone’s experience, the material is revived by using Star Trek as a tool for talking about her challenges. Dream sequences serve to reinforce this.
The story is slight but the heart is big. I really enjoyed Please Stand By, its attempt to show a different kind of coming-of-age, its commitment to keeping things light and fun but true. In an age where super heroes overcome astronomical, impossible, unbelievable things in at least 3 different acts of each movie, it’s refreshing to see a young woman overcome such humble obstacles and know that they mean so much more.
ASSHOLES WATCHING MOVIES 
I saw this movie and I think its very impressing!
🙂
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I agree – it was a nice surprise!
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Yes it was!
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Gosh Jay, I would have never wanted to see this movie but now because of your review I’m so going to watch this! Thank you 🙂
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Toni Collette is what did it for me – and Patton Oswalt seals the deal.
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I saw a preview of this recently and thought it looked good. Will be sure to see it with your endorsement.
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Yeah, I kind of missed seeing in the first time around but glad I caught up with it.
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Like thehuntress915, I’m not sure I would have ever bothered with this, but you’ve got me interested.
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I’d really like to see this one, hope it travels over.
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Nicely put Jay.
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The Fanning sisters along with Abigail Breslin are just a joy to watch…..I picked this up about a month ago and am looking forward to watching even more now. The cheetah and I reviewed “Nine Lives” which features a moving story featuring Dakota and Glenn Close. We are fans!
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Yes, I remember reading your review and added it to my list.
Dakota disappeared for a while – school, I think – so it’s nice to see her back.
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Oh, that sounds interesting. I’ll have to keep an eye out for it.
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This sounds excellent. Will search it out when possible.
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Amazing write-up!!
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