Why Watch 'I Just Can't Live Without You' on Netflix

Netflix

Let’s be honest. We all have one thing we believe we cannot live without. In “I Can’t Live Without You” (“No puedo vivir sin ti”), Carlos’ must-have is his cellphone. The situation has ballooned so far out of control that it has quite literally taken over his life. Or has it?

When Carlos’ phone addiction disrupts two family events, his wife Adela (Paz Vega) decides she has had enough. After 20 years of marriage, she threatens to pull the plug. Carlos (Adrián Suar) is not ready to give up just yet. He launches a campaign towards improving himself. Like the battle in any addiction, there are steps forward and back.

“I Just Can’t Live Without You” takes its time unwinding what Carlos is truly reliant upon. For viewers, it may feel obvious from the outset. Often, what is blamed is the crutch for a deeper issue, and to its considerable credit, this charming, zany comedy zeroes in on what that is.

In the meantime, Carlos spends his time caught between a rock and an even harder place, namely the empty-sided half of his marital bed. With shades of “Liar, Liar” and other situational comedies – “I Just Can’t Live Without You” confronts modern afflictions with lots of heart and soul. 

Were it not for the charismatic turn of Adrián Suar as the cellphone-crazy Carlos, the movie could feel repetitive. That is part of the journey in any recovery, though. It might have been helpful for the audience to have a therapist coach Carlos and his wife through this transition. However, Carlos going it alone heightens the suspense he may not succeed.

All in all, “I Just Can’t Live Without You” encourages the power of support groups and the ability of individuals to find growth. As in life, change is not always easy. A person’s character is not black-and-white, and the fight for real love can be hard-fought. You have to ask yourself: Who can I not live without?

The Ending

Spoiler alert: The next paragraph involves ending spoilers for the Netflix movie “I Just Can’t Live Without You.”

Does Carlos win his wife Adela back? In the end, Carlos’s grand gesture to board the plane taking his beloved wife to Milan works! In another helping hand, the battery on his phone also dies. I have to admit the Netflix rom-com had me going. 

I thought the movie’s ending might find Carlos embarking on a new relationship with the leader of the group. Instead, it is she who, sharing her reason for starting the group, encourages Carlos to fight for Adela. She lost her husband in a car accident caused by her cellphone use. The disclosure of this tragedy drives the message home in time for the ending.

“I Can’t Live Without You” (“No puedo vivir sin ti”) is currently streaming on Netflix.