Wish You Were Here
Charlotte (Isabelle Fuhrman, "Orphan," "The Novice") has been adrift, waiting for something to happen in her life when she meets Adam (Mena Massoud, 2019's "Aladdin") and the two share an intense connection. But the next day, Adam douses their spark with a hurtful comment. Charlotte will begin tentatively seeing Seth (Jimmie Fails, "The Last Black Man in San Francisco," "Nickel Boys"), but can't quit Adam, who, she'll learn, always felt the same way about her in "Wish You Were Here."
Laura's Review: C
Actress Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut adapting a novel which affected her deeply with the book's author, Renée Carlino, and a lot of how you feel about this unabashed weepie will depend on how you feel about the source material. Fuhrman, who acted with Stiles in "Orphan: First Kill," is quite good in the lead, as is Gabby Kono as her best friend Helen, the two an amusing pair to spend time with, but Adam's behavior makes little sense and Jimmie Fails is too reticent as the nice guy waiting in the wings, clearly relegated to 'also ran' status. Charlotte's family, too, is odd, Kelsey Grammer an empathetic dad who sings too loudly as he cooks, Jennifer Grey a somewhat flighty mom and brother Chucky (Jordan Gavaris, TV's 'Orphan Black'), whose offscreen behavior suggests a twelve year-old, surprises when we meet a fully grown adult. As Seth's buddy-turned-Helen's-love-at-first-sight-fiancé, Josh Caras makes little impression as Roddy.
So after an original 'meet cute' that doesn't stray from reality, Charlotte spends a magical evening with Adam, an artist who lives in a bare bones loft with silk banners hanging for flowy, romantic effect. He'll invite her to 'help him paint' by pasting adjoining artworks of his on a brick building between their apartments (then throwing her right up against that wall, where presumably, her hair would have become glued to his artwork, but hey, we're not supposed to notice things like that when we're in full blown romantic fantasy mode). When he expresses a desire for the night to never end, Charlotte agrees to return to his loft and when he playfully asks how they met, she weaves a tale from a perspective of five years later, the two cementing their hours long bond as soul mates. When she awakens the next morning, though, Adam tells her 'You're not really my girlfriend. You know that, right?' Distressed by the sudden about face, Charlotte gathers up her things and leaves.
Adam will hang over the movie's midsection, Charlotte unable to shake that intense connection. While walking with Helen, they'll pass that brick wall, Adam's artwork now festooned with a string of paper dolls, and Paper Doll having been a nickname she'd told him about, Charlotte believes he's sending her a message (many may find them more reminiscent of imagery from Jordan Peele's "Us"). But when Charlotte's brother creates a Swiper profile using a picture from her prom when she still had braces combined with a thoroughly off-putting description, Helen will find one response on Charlotte's phone that she finds promising. Seth, it seems, can commiserate, a family member having done the same to him on the same platform. While Charlotte's still objecting to Helen having gone through her phone, Helen responds to Seth, setting up a meeting at a football practice. Charlotte insists Helen accompany her and the two are surprised to find that Seth is not a player, but the team mascot, and one with an unusually creative field dance and a buddy to pair up with Helen. Before a week's gone by, Helen's moving in with Roddy and while Charlotte continues to see Seth, her behavior isn't very encouraging. Then she receives a visit from a female friend of Adam's with some dire news - he's dying and wants to see her again. And here is where the movie really slides off the rails depending on your tolerance for manipulative death tropes.
Charlotte will get a bizarre explanation from Adam in his hospital bed, his head now shaved and eyes shaded with dark circles, for his comment and all is immediately rapturous. With the winking collusion of a nurse who would lose her job for such behavior, Charlotte sneaks Adam out for an excursion, only to return with him in distress, that same nurse castigating her. But Charlotte will spin another fanciful tale, once which at first some may take at face value given what preceded it. The concept is fine, but the execution is bumpy. And of course, there is poor Seth, the overly engineered consolation prize waiting in the wings, a future which should seem joyful instead anti-climatic.
Stiles' production is fine, her characters living in believable spaces in real neighborhoods and she has elicited some natural performances from her ensemble, but taste is a more difficult thing to measure and with "Wish You Were Here," she errs on the side of fantastical excess.
Robin's Review: C+
Charlotte (Isabel Fuhrman) has a going-nowhere job in a fast food restaurant and seems destined to it and not much more. Then, she has a chance one night of romance with artist Adam (Mena Massoud) but their paths will cross again, changing her life in “Wish You Were Here.”
Julia Stiles makes her directorial-writing debut, adapting the novel of the same name by Renee Carlino, and the result is a twenty something woman’s romantic fantasy. To all intent and purpose, Charlotte has no real ambition and no real commitment.
Then, one night after work, she heads home with her BFF and roomie, Helen (Gabby Kono). As they come to their front door, they see a young man carrying takeout who appears to be lost. He offers some food from his bag and, still confused, heads off. Charlotte decides to help him, Adam, and the night becomes one of magic – then they part after a confusing morning after.
Why the confusion becomes apparent when Charlotte learns that his erratic behavior is because of a life-threatening tumor on the brain. She makes the noble decision, not really her thing, to help Adam all the way through. It is a heart-warming little romance that feels manufactured.
One problem I have with Stile’s tyro work is that, beyond the two main characters, the rest kind of meander in and out at the screenplay’s convenience. As such, other characters of any importance – BFF Helen, mom (Jennifer Grey), dad (Kelsey Grammer) and other the potential object of romance, Seth (Jimmy Fails) – come into the picture, give their required dialog and quietly leave.
Of the two leads, I found Adam to be the more sympathetic character, with Charlotte less so. Charlotte’s epiphany over Adam begins her decision to help him through to his inevitable and fast-approaching death. This is where things get confusing as, at one point, she takes him out of the hospital, on the QT, for a couple of hours. The result is not good for Adam, who has a seizure and takes a step back.
Then, he makes the decision to leave the hospital and a long, idyllic interlude takes place with the two taking off in a sailboat as if nothing is wrong. As I said, it is a young woman’s romantic fantasy where even the dying look really good.
Lionsgate releases "Wish You Were Here" in theaters on 1/17/25.
