Plot
An autistic woman named Molly McKay has lived in a mental institution from a young age following her parents' deaths in an automobile accident. When the institution must close on account of budget cuts, she is left in the care of her non-autistic older brother, Buck McKay. He has only ever visited on special occasions as they are estranged.
Buck is an advertising executive and perennial bachelor. Molly, who verbalizes very little and is obsessed with lining up her shoes in neat rows, throws Buck's life into a tailspin. He has difficulty dealing with her hygiene issues and feeding her. Unsuccessful at trying to leave Molly at a daycare, Buck is forced to take her to work. There, she runs away from her caaregivers and barges into a meeting at the agency naked.
Buck convinces his assistant to look after Molly and take her home. Leaving her by a fountain while she picks up a pizza, she finds Molly playing in it, soaking herself. Soon after, Buck is let go.
Feeling stir crazy, never going out, Buck invites Sam from the institution over. Although he also has his own issues, he is highly communicative and interacts well with her. Before leaving, Sam suggests Buck have Molly tested for elegibility for a program where he now works, as he suspects it could help her connect with the world.
Molly's neurologist, Susan Brookes, suggests an experimental surgery in which genetically modified brain cells are implanted into Molly's brain. While Buck initially balks at the suggestion, he finally consents to the surgery. Soon after, Molly suffers a seizure, upsetting her brother, as she almost died. When Susan suggests another try, Buck refuses.
Some days later, after seeing Molly understand some abstract concepts, Buck creates a list of simple learning goals for Molly. One morning, he wakes up to find Molly is able to do many of the tasks on it. Enthusiastic, Buck takes her back to Dr. Brookes and she makes a gradual but miraculous recovery, speaking fluidly and interacting with others in a normal way.
Buck begins taking Molly to social events, like a production of Romeo and Juliet , a baseball game and fancy dinners. However, after a few months, Molly's brain begins to reject the transplanted cells and she begins to regress into her previous state. Both Molly and Buck must accept the eventual loss of Molly's cure and her regression into her previous state.
In the final scene of the film, Buck accepts Molly's autism and vows to remain in Molly's life by creating a room for her at his home that looks just like the room she had at the institution.
Release
Believing the film was unlikely to be a success, the distributors Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures chose to cut their losses and eliminate the film's marketing budget. It was first released on airplanes before being released to theaters. [3] It was only released on a single weekend in twelve theaters, in order to meet legal obligations, and grossed only US$17,650 during its theatrical run, on a budget of $21 million, [4] making it a box office bomb.
Critical reception
Molly was widely panned by critics. [5] [6] On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 13% "Rotten" approval from 23 critics, with a rating average of 3.4 out of 10. The consensus says, "Molly never really elevates above uninspired, cliche-ridden moments." [7] At Metacritic, Molly received a weighted mean rating of 21 out of 100 from film critics, consistently indicating "generally unfavorable reviews", classified as a generally unfavorably reviewed film. [8]
