Julia Stiles makes her directorial debut with “Wish You Were Here” – a sweet, earnest, but sadly formulaic romantic drama that has its heart in the right place but hinges on a few too many tired clichés to get by. Yet while its story is all too familiar, it does offer Stiles the opportunity to show what she can do behind the camera. And it gives the talented Isabelle Fuhrman another noteworthy lead role outside of her entertaining Orphan films.

“Wish You Were Here” is an adaptation of a 2017 novel of the same name written by Renée Carlino. It’s penned for the screen by Stiles and Carlino and stars Fuhrman who worked with Stiles on “Orphan: First Kill”. Their real-life connections show themselves in the film’s strengths, namely in the story’s lead character (played by Fuhrman) who is easily the movie’s most compelling piece. If only the other characters weren’t so thinly sketched.

The story follows a pretty standard blueprint that will be recognizable to anyone who has ever watched a romance turned weepie. Fuhrman plays a young woman named Charlotte who at 29-years-old has found herself in a rut. She works a go-nowhere job at a Mexican restaurant and after several bad experiences (and despite her family’s best efforts to hook her up) she has lost all interest in dating.

But that changes following her chance meet-cute with a street artist named Adam (Mena Massoud). The two have some drinks, paint a mural together, and impulsively go to his place for a romantic nightcap. The next morning a smitten Charlotte wakes up to find Adam cold and adrift. He promptly reminds Charlotte that they’re not a couple which instantly turns her warm feelings to dejection.

Months pass and Charlotte can’t get Adam out of her mind. That’s when she gets a unexpected visit from Adam’s friend and neighbor Stacy (Jane Stiles) who delivers a letter he wrote following their night together that explains why he was so quick to let her go. The heartfelt letter reveals that he had a brain tumor and is now in the hospital with terminal cancer. Charlotte goes to him leading to a rekindling of their relationship which takes on a tender but heartbreaking new form.

Interestingly, Charlotte and Adam don’t spend as much screentime together as you might think. Their relationship bookends what is Charlotte’s struggle to find her place in the world. As she does, a number of underdeveloped side characters pop in and out of her story including her flighty best friend Helen (Gabby Kono-Abdy), her straight-shooting mother (Jennifer Grey) and empathetic father (Kelsey Grammer), and the sweet guy waiting in the wings, Seth (thanklessly played by Jimmie Fails).

Sadly, none of the supporting roles carry much weight. Even Adam sometimes come across as a stereotype rather than a fleshed-out person. And the story itself follows the same path as so many others before it. It even gets a little absurd later on. Take when a weakened Adam is barely able to utter a sentence and then moments later is slipping out of the hospital with Charlotte for a playful afternoon on the beach.

But even with its flaws, “Wish You Were Here” remains interesting thanks to Fuhrman’s emotionally layered and authentic performance. And it’s clear that Stiles has a career in the director’s chair. She especially impresses with the camera, using it in a number of sumptuous ways, from intimate closeups to subtle arc shots. It may not be enough to carry this particular movie, but it does excite us for what she’ll do in the future. “Wish You Were Here” opens January 17th.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS