Steven Prusakowski
The new HBO film Miss You, Love You directed by Jim Rash invites viewers into the home of Diane (Allison Janney) a recently widowed woman in the middle of planning a funeral for her recently passed husband. She anticipates her estranged son’s arrival, only to be joined instead by a less-than-welcome guest: his assistant, Jamie (Andrew Rannells). Two strangers brought together in the least expected of ways, the pair are forced to navigate grief together across an emotional minefield filled with grief, resentment and the occasional struggling succulent.
The dysfunctional duo of Janney, a seven-time Emmy winner and Rannells is nothing short of magnetic establishing an instant chemistry that grows and evolves with each scene. Miss You, Love You is as uncomfortable at times as it is quite moving, and also often laugh-out-loud funny. Rash blends the comedy and drama in a way that feels authentic and natural.
Rash, Janney, and Rannells spoke with Awards Radar about the film that explores the messy realities of mourning as well as the many voids that life hands us from estranged relationships, to the loss of a loved one, to the unexpected bonds that can form in their wake.
“They really are forced to share a lot of this grief and a lot of these feelings, basically with a stranger, which in some ways makes it easier for them to kind of connect in that moment. I know I certainly am guilty of that in my own life, that sometimes you feel like you don’t want to burden someone with your feelings, or you don’t want to.,” confessed Rannells. “It’s easier just to do it by yourself. And so I was really drawn to that aspect of this script when we read it, that it is about just that, about sometimes sharing that pain does make it seem lighter.”
Diane is not ready for this situation and having a stranger join her is as far out of her comfort zone. “I love seeing how Diane was such a control freak. She wants to control grief, control the love in her life,” shared Janney. “She wants to control everything. And she just is failing at it miserably. And it’s kind of fun to watch her try and watch him react to her.,” shared Janney.
For Rash, turning a chapter of his life, into a film required he look at the unique situation with a fresh perspective. “I’m always fascinated when Strangers in any piece meet for a longer short period of time and just the impact that we can have in those moments, especially when I’m most vulnerable,” shared the Director. “I hhink the also with a stranger sometimes the mirror is right up in your face, you know Like yes family will tell you I feel but family sometimes eat it and then they take it to another room and complain about you whereas you have these two people looking at each other and almost being very aware of how that other person is being and and saying it.”
Watch the full interviews with Rash, Janney and Rannells below, And be sure to watch all the laughs, tear, and uncomfortableness in Miss You, Love You is now streaming exclusively on HBO Max.
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