MISS YOU, LOVE YOU Review

Nothing makes me feel more pretentious and pseudo-artsy-fartsy than a thought I had earlier today: I have really eclectic taste in movies.

Now, do I think most everyone has an eclectic taste in film, whether they realize it to not? Yes, I really do. So I don't think I'm too darned special in this regard. But still... it's good to know that I can get my cinematic jollies from many different kinds of flicks. It's no secret whatsoever that even now, when so many other folks are bailing out of the boat, I'm still a big fan of movies based on comic books. And I talk enough Horror that most folks will ascertain that I'm a huge fan of that genre, as well... for all its pleasantries and warts.

But another type of movie I've adored for many years now is the grounded, low-stakes interpersonal relationship comedy-drama. Since I fell in love with Lost In Translation back in 2003, this has been a type of film that I can almost always throw my weight behind. In subsequent years, I've been enamored of efforts like Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, Dan In Real Life, Stranger Than Fiction, About Time, and many more. Not everything with me needs to be defeating super villainy or escaping a masked serial killer; sometimes I just want to watch actors reckon with emotion on screen.

It doesn't necessarily have to be romance, either; or at least, it doesn't have to be affectation on a personal level in these movies. As long as we get two people dealing with their humanity and building a connection to each other, it can work for me. Something, anything relatable will do it. The human experience can't be summed up as easily as "do we love?", even if that might be the single most popular emotion to revel in.

So we come today to the new movie recently dropped on HBO Max, Miss you, Love You. At first glance, there isn't much here. Academy Award winner Allison Janney plays Diane, a widow whose husband has just passed away, and Andrew Rannells plays Jamie, the personal assistant of Diane's son who comes in lieu of him to help her get the funeral in order. And... that's it! The two spend a week together preparing for a funeral. There's no greater scope to this one, no grand scheme or antagonist. It's just two people working their stuff out.

So it seemed like it might be perfect for me.

Diane appears at first as a cold woman, embittered by her son sending an assistant to do what he should be manning up to take care of. Jame is initially overeager and nervous in the face of this strong woman. As the days pass, they each let their guards down and discover that there may be a thing or two they have in common.

TWO UPS AND TWO DOWNS

+ Allison Janney is a known powerhouse of a performer. It's no great shock to say that she is a star here that commands the screen. The surprise is Andrew Rannells, who matches her each step of the way. He goes toe to toe with a bona fide Academy Award winner, and he holds his own for the entire duration of the picture.

What a great pairing they are in this darling of a film. They argue and agree and build each other's character with every bit of dialogue or off-handed gesture--Jamie nervously chuckles a lot--as the movie progresses. Their dialogue is believable because they deliver it with all of the conviction they can muster.

+ There is a moment mid-movie where the conflict between Diane and Jamie really hits, and the whole perspective changes. Instead of the steady camera shots to which we've become accustomed for the first hour, we get hand-cam, and the sudden slight unevenness of the footage so perfectly punctuates the tension of the moment. I'm not implying that director Jim Rash (and I just noticed the name and realized this was directed by the guy from Community!) invented this technique, but he uses it to perfection here to create the unease the audience should be feeling. 

- That said about the expertise of handling it, the conflict is a little forced in this one. I don't want to spoil exactly what happens (so I won't), but it feels a little out of left field when we get to why Jamie and Diane start falling out. I wasn't sure I ever entirely bought the movie's excuse to introduce strife into their dynamic.

- A Down to the fact that most people won't like this quite as much as I do, but even in what is shaping up to be a glorious year of new films, this is almost a lock for my top ten of the year at 2026's end. But yeah, it's a very, very low-stakes movie that a lot of viewers might find boring or uneventful. It's simply about two people connecting, and while those kinds of flicks often hit with me, I know many people who just won't be wow'ed by this. It's slow and purposeful.

OVERALL

Miss You, Love You really connected with me even though it and I seem to have little in common. I'm not a widower, nor am I a gay man with feelings for my boss. There's no reason for me to find myself adoring this outing as much as I do. And yet... it's just made so well and by such tactful and competent actors, that I was easily taken in by it.

Is it for everyone? Definitely not. But it sure was for me.

🍿SCORE = 88 / 100