Saturday at the Movies: Jane Wants a Boyfriend (2015)

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Every Saturday night on WrongPlanet.net, a discussion will ensue about a selected autism-related film. Please, take care to avoid spoilers (or, at least, flag them) to prevent potential viewers from learning too much about the story in advance of their viewing. Tonight’s selected film is:

Jane Wants a Boyfriend (101 minutes), a 2015 American romantic-comedy drama film directed by William Sullivan of a screenplay by Jarret F. Kerr. It stars Louisa Krause as Jane, a woman with Asperger syndrome, and Gabriel Ebert as Jack. The DVD and Amazon Video versions of the film were released in 2016. The trailer and scenes from the film are available for viewing on YouTube under the search term Jane Wants a Boyfriend.

WrongPlanet.net member arkatron reviewed this film and described it this way: “Jane Wants A Boyfriend is an entertaining drama/comedy about Jane (played by Louisa Krause), a 25 year old autistic costume designer who has never had a boyfriend. She wants to turn some heads and meet a nice guy, but she finds resistance from her family who are overly protective of her and are going through major changes of their own. Krause delivers a convincing and endearing performance as an autistic woman seeking independence and love. Some supporting characters are flat in comparison, but nevertheless ‘Jane’s’ affecting emotional core and cathartic conclusion carry the day” (LA Times).

If you have viewed this film, what are your opinions about it?

It was a fun movie, but one thing that bothered me was the portrayal of the guy she meets on the date. He is the only other person in the movie who is (presumably) autistic but is portrayed unsympathetically (not as conventionally attractive and not as socially aware). Maybe it was meant to contrast with Jane who is more acceptable to society because she is conventionally beautiful and more socially aware.