Official Trailer
Rating: 8/10 | Genre: Drama | Runtime: 98 min
Starring: Allison Janney, Andrew Rannells, Suzy Nakamura, Bonnie Hunt, Oscar Nuñez
I went into Miss You, Love You expecting a tearjerker, and yeah, it kind of is one. But it’s also funny in this awkward, uncomfortable way that catches you off guard. Allison Janney plays Margaret, a widow who’s sharp-tongued and doesn’t have patience for nonsense, and she has to plan her husband’s funeral with her son’s assistant, played by Andrew Rannells. The catch is that her son is estranged from her, so she doesn’t even know him that well. It’s a weird setup, but it works.
What makes this movie land is that it doesn’t try too hard. The script lets these characters just exist together and figure things out. Janney is great at playing someone who’s grieving but too stubborn to admit it. She throws zingers around like a shield, and you can feel the hurt underneath every sarcastic comment. Rannells matches her energy without trying to soften her or make her likable. He just shows up and does his job, and something real grows between them.
There’s a scene about halfway through where they’re arguing about some stupid detail for the funeral, and it suddenly becomes about all the stuff they’re actually angry about. Not with each other, but with people who aren’t there anymore. It’s not overdone or manipulative. It just happens, and both actors nail it.
The runtime is 98 minutes, which is perfect. It doesn’t overstay its welcome. Some of the supporting cast members like Bonnie Hunt and Suzy Nakamura don’t get a ton to do, but the movie is really about Margaret and this guy whose name I’m not even sure I caught. That’s intentional, I think. He’s a stranger helping her through something impossible, and there’s something beautiful about that.
The pacing drags a little in the second act. There are some funeral planning details that go on too long, and I get that they’re supposed to be boring and tedious, but the movie almost loses you there. You sit through some dead weight (no pun intended) before things pick back up.
By the end, you’re not crying because something huge happened. You’re feeling something because these two people found a way to be honest with each other when they had no reason to be. It’s small and quiet, which is kind of the point. Not every story needs to be loud to matter.
Have you seen this one yet, or is it on your list?
Where to Watch
Stream on: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max, Crave