Title: Miss You Already
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Toni Collette, Dominic Cooper
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins

What It Is: Jess (Barrymore) and Milly (Collette) are childhood best friends. They’ve been through almost everything together. Milly’s wedding to Kit (Cooper) and the birth of her children, Jess’ meeting of her husband Jago (Paddy Considine) almost everything. That is except the unexpected news that Milly had breast cancer. This unforeseen bit of news takes its toll on Milly, her family, and Jess. However, Jess has a bit of positive news to share, news that will change her life in a similar way.

What We Think: This is the 21st-century version of Beaches. It plays to its strength. That strength lies in the scripts ability to manipulate your emotions. We laugh, we cry, and we move with the characters through their difficulties. Director Catherine Hardwicke does not get the chance to shine in this. This is a much different from her previous efforts. She is just so hit and miss. That inconsistency hurts here. Barrymore and Collette are believable, but their performances do not reinvent the wheel. Dominic Cooper deserves better, though, that guy is just so damn talented.    

Our Grade: C-, There are just a lot of things that could have been done with something like this. Sadly this is just saccharine entertainment that’s sole purpose is to bring the waterworks. I’ll recommend it as a good remedy for someone who needs a good cry, but outside of that there’s really just nothing here. A completely empty shell of a film, one that just never seems to get itself going. At least it is well paced and funny enough in spots to be mediocre. All of these things can, and for all intents and purposes could be fixed with the hand of a better director.