Lou Lumenick

Lou Lumenick

Movies

Touchy Feely disappoints

Lynn Shelton’s disappointing follow-up to “Your Sister’s Sister’’ is a flat comedy-drama about a massage therapist (Rosemarie DeWitt) who develops a sudden aversion to skin at the same time her dentist brother (Josh Pais) discovers he has a magical touch for reducing patients’ pain that revives his failing practice.

The fine, underutilized cast includes Ellen Page as the dentist’s daughter, who also serves as his put-upon assistant, and Allison Janney as a relaxation therapist who finds her greatest challenge in the uptight dentist.

There’s also Scoot McNairy as the massage therapist’s disgruntled boyfriend and the ubiquitous Ron Livingston (DeWitt’s husband) lurking as a would-be suitor.

“Touchy Feely’’ works better in its funnier moments, but Shelton — who pads things out with way too many scenic shots of Seattle — never pulls all these threads together into a satisfying whole. Pais and DeWitt, especially, seem to be acting in entirely different movies.

Running time: 87 minutes. Rated R (profanity, drugs, sexuality). At the Cinema Village, 12th Street and University Place.