More a story about loneliness and grappling with a society that shuns and misunderstands its subjects than a mere stalker profile, I Think We’re Alone Now attempts to create a sympathetic view from the perspective of two obsessive fans.
The middle-aged and under-stimulated Jeff Turner takes his obsession with ’80s pop star Tiffany to a higher psychological plain by creating a fantasy world in his mind in which she plays his first and only girlfriend. We eventually learn he has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome — a revelation used to explain his strange social behaviour and his penchant for minute details (he’s chronicled Tiffany’s life with the diligence of a scientist). Kelly McCormick, an intersex athlete, is shown as the stalker ingenue who shares Turner’s desire for a life with Tiffany, but only during the course of the film gets around to attending one of her concerts. Seeking a complete gender reassignment, Kelly seems to view Tiffany as a beacon of the femininity she strives for.
Both figures are painted not as delusional or irrational, but as hubristic people who look to a faded pop princess to pluck them from obscurity and save them from mundane existence.