Allison Janney, Andrew Rannells explore pitfalls of relationships in ‘Miss You, Love You’

The moments, says writer/director Jim Rash, were like 15-minute plays … and that was perfect, considering the film’s conception: Rash originally wanted the story to be a play.

“And then the pandemic hit and I was like, ‘Well, while we’re in our homes, I’ll turn it into a screenplay,’” he says.

The result gave both actors plenty of opportunity to dig into their emotions.

Rannells’ character, Jamie, journeys to New Mexico to help his boss' mom Diana (played by Janney) prepare for her husband’s funeral. Her son can’t be there, so he sends Rannells, his assistant. That opens the door to stories.

To get those 15-minute takes, the two memorized the entire script, then rehearsed it until they were ready to film. That made the conversations more fluid.

“With family members, we tend to go into another room to complain about the person we just walked away from,” Rash says.

In the film, the two confront their demons and share their hurt about the one person they have in common.

“They both let go of him a little bit," Rash says. "If he was here, they’d both have to say it to his face. That’s why the whole theme is resentment.”

Those long scenes also afforded time for pauses, Janney says.

“Jim would say, ‘You know what you’re doing,’ so he would take lines out of the script because the silence was so full already with what was happening,” she says. “I love silences there because they’re not. They’re so loud with what’s going on inside both of them. Silences are earned.”

Rash was inspired to write the story after his sister brought her assistant to their father’s funeral.

“He didn’t know anyone in the room, and I thought that was such an interesting lens to see us when we’re most vulnerable," Rash says. "I then started pulling and crafting the story from my life. You pull from what you know and then (the actors) elevate it and make it their own.”

A big fight between the “Miss You” characters took three days to shoot. The two started at a table, then Rash introduced a hand-held camera and allowed them to ramp up the drama.

“I would just follow their emotions,” Rash says.

Both actors say the story would still make a great play. Neither is rushing to do it.

“To be true to a moment eight shows a week is very challenging,” Janney says. “And this movie, at least, we can get two or three takes and when we got it, we got it. It’s still challenging but it’s a different thing.”

Rannells, who made a splash onstage in “The Book of Mormon,” says it’s difficult to do a show eight times a week.

“You find yourself locked into a performance, and you have to remind yourself what you did on Thursday you don’t necessarily have to do on Friday. You can change and play around with that," he says. "That’s what made doing this with Allison such a joy. She very much works that way and there was room to figure out different colors of things.”

Then, too, there’s the matter of personality traits. Janney says her character is controlling and hard on herself.

“I’m the opposite, which makes her fun to play," she say. "Playing Diana let me get some of my inner anger out at family members.”

Rannells found common ground with his character.

“I could be friends wit," he says. "I think what I would encourage Jamie to do is just get out and have some fun. I grew up that stoicism was the best virtue. Turns out, not always the case. It doesn’t make you a weak person to be vulnerable.”

Grief, Rash adds, makes a person most vulnerable.

“It isn’t just the death of someone. It’s the loss of love. It’s the loss of a mother/son connection," he says. "It’s a relationship that we can’t get back.”