Ya te Extraño

An amazing cast elevates a very predictable story. I have to admit, I expected a little bit more than what this ended up being. Treacle galore but the performances are wonderful.

Greetings again from the darkness. The theatre was filled with the sounds of sobbing. And by sobbing, I mean bawling … not the typical post-movie sniffles. While I was a little confused on just where my fellow movie watchers thought this story was headed, it's understandable that sometimes a dark theatre is simply the best place to have a good cry. Director Catherine Hardwicke and screenwriter Morwenna Banks deliver an unfettered look at friendship, sickness and loss … and a reason to bring tissues.

Tearjerker movies have quite the history of success. Some of the more popular sob fests include: Love Story, Brian's Song, Terms of Endearment, Beaches, Steel Magnolias, and The Notebook. This latest is probably most similar to Beaches in that the focus is on two lifelong female friends (polar opposites in personality) who ride the roller-coaster of life together – through good times and bad.

Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore) meet in elementary school and experience many of life's "firsts" together. We know this because the film begins with a bit of a clumsy flashback sequence that shoots us through their high school years, heavy partying, and finally picks up after they are married.

There are many mysteries of the female gender that those of us with Y chromosomes will never comprehend. One of those is the close friendship between the vain, center-of-attention type, and the always supportive enabler. Milly is the classic taker, while Jess is a giver. Milly is the high-flying socialite who dresses flashy and draws a crowd, while Jess is the dependable sidekick, always there to make sure Milly is never alone. It's confounding and a bit sad to those of us who view friendship as something much different.

Both Ms. Collette and Ms. Barrymore are strong in their performances, though Collette has the much meatier role. What's impressive about the movie is how it takes head on the horrific travails of those with breast cancer. The emotional and physical and medical aspects are all dealt with no compromise. Some of it is tough to watch, but admirable in its directness. Milly's breast cancer takes center stage, while Jess' struggle to get pregnant is low-keyed. Fitting for their personalities, but each based in real life sagas. Milly's husband Kit (Dominic Cooper), and Jess' husband Jago (Paddy Considine) both provide understandable reactions to the obstacles faced by their spouses. Add in a bleached blonde Jacqueline Bisset as Milly's eccentric mom, and the five lead actors each contribute a relatable element to the story.

Two other actors make an impression: Frances de la Tour as a wise and direct wig-maker, and Tyson Ritter (front man for The All-American Rejects) as a free-spirited bartender who may or may not be a good influence on Milly. Even though Jess is the heart of the story, it's Milly who dominates … just like their friendship. Green vs glamour.

Director Hardwicke will always hold a special place in my movie memories thanks to her sparkling 2003 debut Thirteen. She and writer Banks clearly understand women, and believe it crucial to show the courage required in the fight against breast cancer. Fortunately, their main character is funny and spirited, and pals around with someone we would all be proud to call a friend. And that's nothing to cry about.

"Miss You Already" follows rebellious Milly (Toni Collette) and her struggle with the cancer, supported by best bud Jess (Drew Barrymore). And special mention goes to Milly's mum, Miranda, a high class woman who barely holding it together (as a mother would) - this role was so superbly played by divine Jacqueline Bisset. This is without a doubt a female driven story but men do play a pretty significant part. The film does a great job of depicting and showing how having a disease like breast cancer can change your life as well as those around you. This movie does however fall into a trap of lifetime clichés and the middle section of the film gently touches boredom why it feels like it could have lost 15 minutes or so. "Miss You Already" is not a perfect movie, but few movies are. It handles a hard subject in a noble way with skill. This makes it able to compensate for some of its shortcomings. 8-/10

While the theatrical poster for "Miss You Already" may look suspiciously like "The Fault in Our Stars," I can assure you the former is a much more pleasant and believable affair than the latter. Featuring two actresses that aren't always the first to come to consumers' minds for their wide-variety of roles and breezy charisma, unfairly so in my mind, Catherine Hardwicke's "Miss You Already," another film about the perils of terminal cancer on everyone from the patient to the family, manages to pull just enough strings with its solid cast and melodrama to make you forget it's occasionally pulling your heart strings.

The film follows two best friends, Milly (Toni Collette) and Jess (Drew Barrymore), who have been best friends ever since Jess and her family moved overseas to England when she was a young girl. They've been inseparable since, and even different circumstances plaguing one another - Milly with her husband Kit (Dominic Cooper) and their two young children and Jess with her husband Jago (Paddy Considine) trying to conceive a kid - they still manage to remain as close as they were when they were young.

Life's ultimate challenge hits them hard when Milly reveals she is suffering from potentially terminal cancer. As she undergoes chemotherapy and experiences all of cancer's hardships - weakness, hair loss, fatigue, and emptiness - she looks to her best friend Jess not only as a poll to lean on, but one to assist her and support her in her time of need.

At first, audience members can't help but feel bad for Milly; she seems like a well-meaning soul, one who at least didn't deserve this ugly fate. It isn't until her true colors come out during this fatal bout of sickness that we realize the kind of person she is. For starters, she loves to take advantage of Jess's kindness, to the point where Jago understandably lectures Jess about how Milly is making them "put their marriage on hold" while she attends to the needs of her best friend. Very seldom do we hear a "thank you" come from Milly or a sincere recognition of Jess's persistent kindness, like sitting beside her bed when she vomits or picking out a wig for her. On top of that, Milly also winds up cheating on Kip for a young bartender, which she justifies because Kip doesn't even look at her any more nor has any interest in having sex with her.

Screenwriter Morwenna Banks at least has Milly, herself, and Jess recognize her uglier traits in the film, which is more that could be said about other female characters in film this year that have exhibited seriously contemptible traits, like Amy Schumer's Amy in "Trainwreck" or even Cara Delevingne's Margot in "Paper Towns." If you can overlook how terrible Milly is as a person when her cancer begins to worsen, or at least can appreciate how the film doesn't sweep her more unlikable traits under the rug by supporting her feeble arguments and justifications for cheating, then "Miss You Already" becomes less an anti-character study, as I call them, and more an appreciation for find acting and melodrama.

As imperfect as this film is, it's a serious footnote for film right now because isn't this the kind of film audiences like to say they want? In the mix of a summer filled with blockbusters nine-figure budgets, Marvel franchises starting, rebooting, and continuing, and other bombastic nonsense, don't we hear a cry for adult dramas quite frequently? The end of 2015 has proved to deliver more than enough adult dramas to sustain a calendar year, effectively saturating the marketplace, which is a whole other issue, but this is precisely the kind of film I see people demanding but those same people forgetting to look at the local theater listings to see what is out this weekend. "Miss You Already" may not be a great film, but it's good enough to warrant a recommendation thanks to committed and thoroughly watchable chemistry from Collette and Barrymore, who show us throughout the film why we love watching them in movies. It's also another acceptable cancer drama in a way that doesn't evoke cheap pathos like "Freeheld," despite lacking the political conversation, at the same time doesn't effectively hit the more sentimental notes successfully like the soul-crushing "50/50" did in 2011.

"Miss You Already" is an enjoyable film that grounds itself in humanity and character relations long enough to distract and hinder the on-sight arrival of emotional manipulation. It's the kind of film, again, that we say we want, but rarely see; so in a crowded marketplace that will largely be stomped on by the likes of "Spectre," being seen by the parents, and "The Peanuts Movie," largely being seen by the kids, here's a low-key film that demands your attention just as well.

Interesting to see that another reviewer compared this to 50/50. In many regards that is, one of them being that 50/50 does seem to get the recognition it deserves (even only in small degrees). Another interesting this is the German title for this movie: In heaven everyone is wearing high heels. Whatever that is supposed to mean.

Overall the movie is pretty engaging and the main actresses have a good chemistry together. For the subject matter it is kept pretty light, which you'll either appreciate or hate. Judging from the rating more people are on the love side. That doesn't mean it's always easy to watch and some may say this could've been a TV drama of the week kind of thing. But that would be unfair to the people involved, all of whom are doing a good job here.