Miss You Already

The title is a parting statement two friends have used for years. Here is a G-rated dramedy (yeah, you read that right) that highlights the importance of friendship. We have two lifelong buddies whose lives are in flux. One wants a baby and the other becomes ill. Yup, it's a chick flick.

Director Catherine Hardwick ("Red Riding Hood" 2011) working from an original screenplay by Morwenna Banks (British television) gives us an upbeat tearjerker. Yup, you read THAT right, too! Actually, the women's touch is evident throughout: The sets look authentic, the clothes seem "real," and relationships with parents, spouses and children all ring true. (And the casting of these two as little girls is perfect.) The husbands are rock solid, so no bad guys there!

We see:

• Drew Barrymore ("Blended") is Jess, the practical one. She is always swept into her chum's absurd schemes. She is almost frumpy next to her fashionista friend; she really wants a baby...  and her uterus is ticking.
• Toni Collette ("Hector and the Search for Happiness") Milly is the wild child: She has an actress mother, a penchant for chichi shoes, LOVES "Wuthering Heights" and wants to see the moors.
• Dominic Cooper ("Agent Carter") Kit was a roadie with a rock show but settled down the moment he met Milly. He has to make the most challenging adjustment after her surgery.
• Paddy Considine ("The World's End") Darling Jago toughs it out through all of those attempts to get Jess pregnant. Eventually he takes a job on an oil rig to earn enough for in-vitro fertilization. He hopes they're gonna need a bigger boat! (They live on a boat.)
• Jacqueline Bisset ("Rizzoli & Isles") Miranda has enjoyed great success as an actress, and now all those years playing a doctor on that soap really pay off.
• Tyson Ritter ("Parenthood") Ace is an appealing bartender at a local pub, but he's moving to Yorkshire...

This is G-rated so expect no profanity or violence (well, a pretty funny childbirth), gunfire or mayhem. HOWEVER, be ready for (up-close and personal) scenes with injections, chemo sessions, vomiting and hair loss, plus a lengthy bit after a double-mastectomy. Terminal illness isn't pretty and this clearly doesn't pander to the faint of heart.

Affinity groups often attend advance screenings; the one which came tonight is affiliated with breast cancer research, so the issues and scenes were not a surprise. They loved it, though I found this attention to detail to be disconcerting. I guess I'm faint of heart. Be warned...

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Here is a preview:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi287355673
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