''Operator'' is a 2016

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

film directed by Logan Kibens from a screenplay by Sharon Greene and Logan Kibens. It stars

Martin Starr Martin James Pflieger Schienle (born July 30, 1982), professionally known as Martin Starr, is an American actor and comedian. He is known for the television roles of Bill Haverchuck on the short-lived comedy drama '' Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2 ...

as Joe, a programmer and obsessive self-quantifier, and

Mae Whitman Mae Margaret Whitman (born June 9, 1988) is an American actress and singer. She began acting in commercials as a child, making her film debut at the age of six in the romantic drama '' When a Man Loves a Woman'' (1994). She achieved recognition as ...

as Emily, a budding comedy performer, who are a happily married couple until they decide to use one another in their work.

Nat Faxon Nathaniel Faxon (born October 11, 1975) is an American actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. A frequent presence on comedic films and TV series, he won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing ''The Descendants'' (2011) ...

Cameron Esposito Cameron Anne Young Anastasia Esposito (born October 17, 1981) is an American actor, comedian, and podcaster known for her show ''Take My Wife (2016 TV series), Take My Wife'', as well as her stand-up comedy and her podcast, ''Queery''. Esposito s ...

Retta Marietta Sirleaf,Jung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018

, and

Christine Lahti Christine Ann Lahti (born April 4, 1950) is an American actress and filmmaker. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1984 film '' Swing Shift''. Her other film roles include '' ...And Justice for All'' (19 ...

co-star. The film had its world premiere at the

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

on March 12, 2016 and was released by The Orchard on November 8, 2016.

Plot

Joe (

) is a programmer with a crippling anxiety problem who is unable to deal with uncertainty. At work he is tasked with creating an interactive call center answering machine that can convey empathy. Joe recruits his wife Emily (

) who has the perfect voice for the system. Emily works at the front desk of a swanky hotel during the day and has an uncanny ability to soothe even the most irate guests (at night she performs with a comedy group at the

Neo-Futurists The Neo-Futurists are an experimental theater troupe founded by Greg Allen in 1988, based on an aesthetics of honesty, speed and brevity. Neo-Futurists in theatre were inspired by the Italian Futurist movement from the early 20th century. Origin ...

). After years of being happily married, the pressures of work, family, and personal growth have strained their relationship. Emily sees this as an opportunity to reinvigorate their marriage and agrees to participate. What begins as a collaboration to strengthen their relationship quickly spirals out of control. Terrified of the uncertainty in their relationship, Joe becomes obsessed with creating the “perfect” version of his wife, becoming detached from the real Emily as he spends sleepless nights programming his automated Emily to fulfill his needs for sex and companionship. While Joe is losing touch with reality, Emily is losing faith in their future together. Joe will have to relinquish control and face the uncertainties of life if he wants to save their marriage.

Cast

as Joe Larsen *

as Emily Klein *

as Gregg *

as Chloe Johnston *

Retta Marietta Sirleaf,Jung, E. Alex Vulture.com, May 23, 2018. rchived https://web.archive.org/web/20180523214634/https://www.vulture.com/2018/05/retta-has-a-story-to-tell.htmlon 05-23-2018

as Pauline "Roger" Rogers *

as Beth Larsen

Production

''Operator'' began filming in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

on June 29, 2015.

Release and reception

The film premiered to positive reviews at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

festival on March 12, 2016. On May 25, 2016, it was announced that The Orchard had acquired distribution rights to the film. On

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 6 reviews, with an average rating of 7.19/10.

References

External links

* * * {{Rotten Tomatoes 2016 films 2016 romantic comedy-drama films American romantic comedy-drama films American independent films Films about technological impact Films set in Chicago Films shot in Chicago The Orchard (company) films 2016 independent films 2010s English-language films 2010s American films