We’re talking about Charlotte (Orphan: First Kill’s Isabelle Furhman), a shy woman with an overbearing mother (Jennifer Grey) and a goofy-yet-sincere dad (Kelsey Grammer). She has an extremely contrived meet-cute with artist Adam (Mena Massoud) that leads to a one-night stand. There seems to be a strong connection between them, but Adam freaks out and ghosts her. Charlotte then begins dating another guy, Seth (Jimmie Fails), all while wondering what went wrong with Adam.
This is the point where I either have to blow the story’s big twist or preserve it. I’ll preserve it, even though the trailer completely gives it away. Let’s just say that Adam returns, and if you’ve ever seen a romantic tearjerker, you can probably guess where the movie is going.
A cliched premise is not the major problem with Wish You Were Here. Technically, it follows a familiar formula that has been used both successfully and unsuccessfully in the past. The real issue is the screenplay, which Stiles co-wrote with Renée Carlino, based on the latter’s novel. It’s like they wrote the outline for a movie rather than an actual movie. Scenes don’t connect to each other in a natural way, almost as if the writers completed individual scenes they wanted to include without actually tying them together. At least once, a significant event is mentioned, then dropped until later, when a different character essentially says, “Oh, by the way, here’s how that turned out.” Lazy writing of that sort repeatedly foils whatever sincerity the film is attempting to convey.
The dialogue isn’t much better. Charlotte and Adam don’t speak the way real couples do. Furhman and Massoud are saddled with annoyingly cutesy lines they’re stuck trying to find a way to sell. Massoud’s boring, one-note performance only makes the lame dialogue stand out even more. Jennifer Grey, who was so good in the recent A Real Pain, fares just as poorly. The Dirty Dancing star is forced to play the “meddling mother” stereotype to an embarrassing degree.
Wish You Were Here manages to go from bad to worse once Adam returns. The plot turns into a treacly mess that’s desperate to wring tears from the audience’s eyes. The filmmakers clearly had a concept for the last act that they found touching. Without the proper character development and story build-up, that concept rings hollow. Had the movie contained more substance, it could have been powerful. Instead, it feels shamelessly manipulative.
The only good element in the movie is Isabelle Furhman. Despite the terrible dialogue and misguided plot, she somehow exudes charm. Maybe a real romantic drama will come her way eventually. Wish You Were Here is substandard.
out of four
Wish You Were Here is rated PG-13 for some sexual material and strong language. The running time is 1 hour and 39 minutes.
© 2025 Mike McGranaghan