Wish You Were Here, 2025.
Written and Directed by Julia Stiles.
Starring Isabelle Fuhrman, Mena Massoud, Jimmie Fails, Gabby Kono, Jennifer Grey, Kelsey Grammer, Jordan Gavaris, Josh Caras, Antonique Smith, Jane Stiles, and Mike Carlsen.
SYNOPSIS:
A woman searching for a spark finds a whirlwind night of romance with a man only to discover he is terminally ill and commits to helping him spend his last days living life to the fullest.
Something is drastically off throughout the meet-cute/spontaneous first night spent between directionless restaurant server Charlie (Isabelle Fuhrman) and mural artist Adam. Unfortunately for Julia Stiles’ directorial debut Wish You Were Here (also penning the screenplay, adapting the book by Renée Carlino), it’s more a case of contrived screenwriting that forces one character to dance around an important topic because if these adults communicated like, well, adults, there wouldn’t be a movie.
There is a mutual attraction between Charlie and Adam, but the latter continuously speaks in something resembling riddles and mysteries about love. For some perspective, I was getting the impression that it would be one of those traveling-through-time rom-coms and that Adam is a reincarnated soul who had known Charlie in a previous life. When all is revealed, what’s actually happening here is so unbearably mawkish that all the genuine charm from Isabelle Fuhrman that the film was passably coasting on evaporates into this cloying trash pile.
After a successful first date that encompasses everything from personal conversations to connecting personalities to creating a mural together to capping the night off with sex, in the morning, Adam’s mixed messaging swings into full-on pushing Charlie away, insisting that this was a one-night stand and she knows it. Devastated, Charlie receives support from her longtime best friend/co-worker (Gabby Kono) and kooky parents (Jennifer Gray and Kelsey Grammar), with her mom and well-meaning jokester brother (Jordan Gavaris) teaming to sign her up for a dating service under the impression that some of her problems in life would be solved by finding the right man (a regressive mindset, for sure, but also the least of the film’s issues.)
To the film’s credit, Charlie does resist that notion but quickly gives in to the prospect of meeting up with an observant, handsome man (Jimmie Fails) who turns out to be a combination of a sensitive soul and a playfully passionate college football mascot costumer. It’s a crime that I don’t remember seeing Jimmie Fails since his tremendously evocative breakout work in The Last Black Man in San Francisco, something that this film cements; he’s the only one who consistently feels like a real, believable person here. That’s also helped because he has the least screen time of the three principal characters. Someone put him in a romance that’s actually good, ASAP.
That’s also not to say Isabelle Fuhrman is bad. As stated, she is charming and easy to get behind, working a job she hates (surrounded by obnoxious customers), hounded by her family to do something productive in life, having bad luck with relationships, and possessing a sweet spark. Adam comes back into the film for reasons that won’t be spoiled, and Wish You Were Here spirals, letting Isabelle Fuhrman down in the process and giving her nothing to do but weepy, aggressively emotionally manipulative nonsense. Also playing out in the background is a ridiculous subplot that sees her best friend also find love, move out of the room they share, and get engaged, all within what feels like less than a month.
It’s also made clear that Wish You Were Here is striving to say something resonant regarding ghosting (and how maybe we don’t always owe someone an explanation for doing so) and how a critical component of love comes down to timing. How Julia Stiles (presumably the book) tackles that message is nothing short of insufferable melodrama that forces two of its characters to service those themes rather than exist as people who feel human. The kindest thing that can be said is that, at the very least, the story doesn’t morph into a tasteless, ludicrous love triangle.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association, Critics Choice Association, and Online Film Critics Society. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews and follow my BlueSky or Letterboxd
