Reviews
Regretting You
Regretting You is about to become every mum’s favourite movie of the year, stuffed to the brim with cheese, cringe, and unapologetic romance. It is a recipe cooked up in heaven for horny devils everywhere, and honestly that is to its credit, because one thing is certain: the film is extremely self-aware and leans fully into those tropes, making it a guaranteed crowd-pleaser.
Regretting You is the second novel from bestselling author Colleen Hoover to receive a big-screen adaptation, following the huge success of It Ends With Us. Directed by Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) and adapted for the screen by Susan McMartin, the production has thankfully avoided the controversies that surrounded It Ends With Us, while still likely drawing just as many curious viewers.
The story primarily follows Morgan Grant (Allison Williams) and her teenage daughter Clara (McKenna Grace) after their lives are brought to a grinding halt when their husband and father, Chris (Scott Eastwood), is killed in a tragic car accident. For those who have not read the book, the next revelation may be shocking, if the trailer has not already spoiled it, because Chris was not alone during the crash. He was in the car with Morgan’s sister Willa (Jenny Fitzgerald), who also happens to be the girlfriend of Chris’s best friend Jonah (Dave Franco). The four of them went to high school together and were once entangled in a web of young love and loyalty. Sounds hectic and full of drama, right? As I mentioned, this is going to be a dream for certain audiences.
The film then explores three key storylines. The first is the mother-daughter dynamic between Morgan and Clara as they struggle with grief, which threatens to fracture their relationship. The second focuses on Morgan and Jonah’s complicated feelings for one another, shown to have been developing since high school through flashback sequences. The third follows Clara’s newfound love with the school’s most popular boy, Miller (Mason Thames), whom she has been forbidden from seeing. All three storylines deliver drama, but ultimately they feel underdeveloped, as key plot points that could be pivotal for the characters’ relationships are introduced and resolved almost immediately.
There are no moments of genuine tension or opportunities for the audience to linger on emotionally significant events. Instead, the film rushes through them, swiftly moving on to the next dramatic scene. This is one of the biggest challenges of adapting a novel with a limited runtime, capturing the depth and nuance that made the book a bestseller. Regretting You ultimately falls short of achieving that magic.
The best part of the film is undoubtedly Miller and Clara’s relationship. In fact, it may be the only truly believable element. Mason Thames and McKenna Grace have sensational chemistry, which should come as no surprise given their real-life relationship, but they still deserve immense credit. Sharing the screen with seasoned veterans, they steal almost every scene, particularly Mason Thames, who is having a stellar year and cementing himself as a future star.
McKenna Grace’s chemistry with Allison Williams in the mother-daughter dynamic is also very strong and believable. The arguments, overprotective instincts, and rebellious streak are all handled convincingly, providing plenty of relatable moments for the audience. However, the exploration of grief could have been much stronger. The film simply does not spend enough time with the two of them alone to fully develop that aspect of the story, given everything else going on.
By contrast, the connection between Jonah and Morgan is the least convincing relationship in the film. Dave Franco and Allison Williams have no chemistry. At best, it feels awkward, at worst purely platonic. This is mostly down to Franco, whose performance feels stiff and wooden throughout. The one exception is his delivery of the film’s best line, “I’m team Miller,” which will no doubt resonate with viewers.
A major bugbear for me was the use of ADR voiceovers for text messages that were already visible on screen. It happened more times than I cared to count, and by the end each instance felt more cringey and painful than the last. I might have forgiven it if the tone of the voiceovers matched the messages, sounding excited during happy moments or sad when delivering bad news. Instead, it felt like actors were reading scripts verbatim in a recording booth, which was completely jarring.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is how funny the film turns out to be. Small supporting roles for Sam Morelos as Lexie, Clara’s best friend, Clancy Brown as Miller’s Gramps, and Ethan Costanilla as Efren, Miller’s best friend, provide comedic relief that mostly lands. Each actor takes their limited screen time and makes the most of it.
While audience scores for Regretting You will no doubt be high, the cringey, cheesy moments and the rushed storytelling stop it from truly landing for me. The film never allows the story or characters to emotionally resonate, making it feel more like a swing and a miss than a home run. That said, Mason Thames and McKenna Grace will undoubtedly do wonders for AMC Theatres.