Miss You, Love You: Captivating character study

Miss You, Love You (2026) • View trailerFour stars (out of five); rated TV-MA, for profanityAvailable via: HBOBy Derrick BangTwo-handers are a challenge on film, because they often feel like plays that wandered into the wrong medium, losing some of their live-on-stage intensity in the process. That isn’t an issue when one of the performers is Oscar winner Allison Janney. As time passes, Diane (Allison Janney) and Jamie (Andrew Rannells) learn a lot abouteach other, including the fact that they're both wounded sparrows.We expect great work from her, and she certainly delivers. This film’s biggest surprise is that co-star Andrew Rannells matches her, line for line, and scene for scene.Their shared energy is nurtured by writer/director Jim Rash, who grants them a beguiling premise, plenty of tart dialogue, and numerous revelatory exchanges that ramp up the emotional intensity. We’re dumped into the story without preamble, as Jamie Simms (Rannells) parks in the driveway of an attractive…