Oh Catherine Hardwick, what have you done with your edge? You showed so much promise with Thirteen, and Lords of Dogtown was brave and bold. If Twilight was a little too hot for you to handle, you redeemed yourself with Fly Away. Now you’ve taken a big step over to the sappy side with Miss You Already, a predictable, cancer weepy with an overload of squealing and tears.

Not that anyone can blame you for wanting to work with heavy hitters with massive acting chops like Drew Barrymore and Toni Collette. Throw in a supporting cast that includes Dominic Cooper, Jacqueline Bisset and Paddy Considine, and you have the makings of an excellent movie…if only you had a more clever, less cliche script.

Anyone can see exactly where this Beaches wannabe is going from the title. Two winsome women, friends since childhood: One of them gets cancer and dies, but not before they have a falling out and a poignant reunion. Along the way there are tearful children and long suffering partners. Really, the death part is no spoiler. In order to miss someone she must go away.

Now, there are a few redeeming features of the film. There are the slightly off-kilter looks and mannerisms of Colette, who is always interesting to watch. You wouldn’t normally picture her as the glamorous, devil-may-care one, although Barrymore as the frumpy one is a bit more expected.

And the London setting in which they live is off the beaten path. A houseboat and a tall, narrow row house with hammocks are actually kind of cool, but as you know, I’m particularly fascinated by dwellings.

So I’m not saying that Miss You Already is a total waste of time. It could be a fun girls night out movie with your bestie. But don’t expect it to break any box office records, or even break even. Been there. Done that. Tossed the tissue.

Rated PG-13

1 Hour 52 Minutes

Get times and tickets at Fandango.com.

MISS YOU ALREADY Review — Do We Really Need Another ‘Beaches?’