Across the Galaxy and Spectrum, ‘Please Stand By’ Has Heart and Charm

A 21-year old girl with autism, Wendy, is insistent on two things: moving back in with her sister to be an aunt, and submitting her hefty 400-page Star Trek script to Paramount Pictures for a chance to win $100,000 dollars. Of course, the two objectives play hand-in-hand as the cash prize would bolster her claim of independence and adulthood, an ability to take care of herself and not be a burden, yet the heart of Please Stand By comes from her unlikely independence as Wendy, played by Dakota Fanning, once afraid of everything, sets off to prove to her sister, group home leader, and herself that she can handle the world on her own. A coming-of-age story in the vein of A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Please Stand By sets you up to fear and cheer for a girl outside her element, and with some suspension of disbelief in its portrayal of autism, is a heart-warming success. If you are personally familiar with autism you likely understand the challenges in stories such as these as they try to balance a forward-moving plot with an honest depiction of an individual on the spectrum. Functioning varies widely, affording a slightly easier suspension of disbelief for portrayals of autism, but Please Stand By largely stumbles in sacrifice of a simpler narrative that thrusts Wendy toward her goal, conflict after conflict, of reaching Los Angeles. But while Please Stand By fails to contribute a novel or uniquely genuine understanding of autism in comparison to other depiction…