Manuel here. It’s been a great couple of weeks for female-led films. We talked about Kate Winslet's The Dressmaker, Brie Larson’s upcoming Room, Judy Greer and Natasha Lyonne’s Addicted to Fresno, Julianne Moore and Ellen Page’s Freeheld, and now Miss You Already. I had to dive into TFE’s archives because I knew we’d discussed this Drew Barrymore/Toni Collette film before. Turns out I talked about Catherine Hardwicke’s film when a pic of a fully bald Toni went around last fall (she plays a woman who gets diagnosed with cancer). The trailer pretty much plays like a clip-reel of the entire film, but that shouldn't deter us from putting it through our patented Yes No Maybe So trailer evaluation after the jump...
Here is the trailer:
Yes
• “Milly, my best friend” - I’m a sucker for Drew’s lisp, so her voice-over, while clearly a narrative crutch, might work in selling the more saccharine parts of the film.
“Is it contained?”
“In my body? Yes”
• From the looks of it Toni and Drew have great chemistry; might they be this generation’s Bette & Barbara?
• Toni’s husband is Dominic Cooper? Yes, please. Oh, and he’s shirtless at their wedding? EVEN. BETTER.
• I have to admit I laughed at the gingerbread/bosoms joke, but that’s because Toni can sell any line, plus she’s a pro at whiplash tone shifts (see: United States of Tara)
No
“Your eggs are ready.”
“Not according to this”
• Oof. This dialogue (see also: "That's a big prick!")
• Can this go beyond being an upscale Lifetime flick?
• Are we really being given every single plot "twist"?
Maybe So
• “When life falls apart...friends keep it together”? While visually interesting (the shot of Toni and Drew at night outdoors, of Toni and Dom against a backlit window, that roving camera during the gingerbread bit), why is this tagline so pedestrian?
• Also, is the title a spoiler?
At best this looks like an interesting female-friendship weepie entry, and at worst, well, like a been there/seen that retread. I’m torn but I have faith in these two actresses so I’m a Maybe So. Miss You Already opens in UK theaters on September 25 though its US release still remains a question mark. Are you in?