How to Talk to Girls at Parties Trailer: Aliens Meet Punk Rock

Nicole Kidman and Elle Fanning are freaky punk rock aliens in the new trailer for How to Talk to Girls at Parties. Neil Gaiman’s 2006 short story provides the basis for the nostalgic sci-fi coming-of-age movie directed by John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Inch). Gaiman’s works continue to be red-hot on both the big and small screens, with American Gods set to go into a second season on Starz (eventually), and Good Omens currently in production ahead of its debut on Amazon. Gaiman also recently announced a new Sandman special to launch a universe built around his classic comic book character.

Gaiman’s How to Talk to Girls at Parties stars Alex Sharp as Enn, a kid caught up in the 1977 London punk rock scene. One night Enn meets Zan (Elle Fanning), a very strange girl who appears to belong to some sort of weird sex cult. It turns out Zan and her people are even stranger than that, as a literally alien culture clashes with the chaotic world of London in the formative days of punk. Nicole Kidman co-stars as Queen Boadicea, an alien priestess with a thing for wigs and rebellion. The first teasers for the film appeared last May via Neil Gaiman’s Instagram.

A24 has now dropped a full trailer for How to Talk to Girls at Parties, showing Mitchell getting back to the wild energies of his acclaimed musical adaptation Hedwig and the Angry Inch. See the trailer above and also check out the poster below.

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Neil Gaiman’s original 18-page short story gets a big expansion here, as Mitchell sets out to explore a clash between the wild rule-breaking of punk rock and the conservative forces embodied by Zan’s alien overseers. Zan gets a 48-hour pass to hang out with Enn and find out what life on earth is all about. This leads to Zan encountering intriguing bodily functions and also engaging in “incomplete sexual activity” with Enn. All this seems like the usual coming-of-age business, but with an obviously bizarre twist. However, things get complicated for Zan when, just as she’s learning to live like a punk rocker, her keepers set out to rein her back in.

Mitchell of course explored similar territory with his 2001 cult hit Hedwig and the Angry Inch, about a transgender punk rocker. Mitchell has made just two feature films since that memorable debut; the 2006 romance Shortbus and the 2010 drama Rabbit Hole. The latter film scored Nicole Kidman an Oscar nomination for her performance as a mother plunged into grief by the death of her son. How to Talk to Girls at Parties reunites Mitchell and Kidman for a film that looks a lot more fun than the brutally intense Rabbit Hole. The movie also stars Ruth Wilson, Matt Lucas, Joanna Scanlan, and Elerica Gallacher.

How to Talk to Girls at Parties hits select U.S. theaters next month on Friday, May 18.