Photo: Samuel Goldwyn Films
If a time-traveler from just 15 years ago leaped into our present, they’d probably be baffled by a world where it’s socially acceptable to wander around in public, continually staring at glowing rectangular screens. That’s how retiree Felix (Richard Kind) feels in the science fiction movie Auggie as he rounds a corner at the grocery store and sees a middle-aged woman in high-tech glasses, chatting away to a virtual assistant that only she can see.
Felix knows just enough about the “Auggie” virtual companion program to have some frame of reference for what’s going on as she playfully swats the air, teasing her Auggie for encouraging her to indulge in a pint of ice cream. But it’s still a weird, comical sight — until Felix tries on his own…