Regretting You review: An unrealistic but mildly enjoyable romance drama
Following the success of 2024’s It Ends With Us, the film adaptations of Colleen Hoover‘s novels are coming thick and fast, making her the Nicholas Sparks of this generation. There are three more coming out within a year, the first being Regretting You.
The film stars Allison Williams and McKenna Grace as young mother Morgan and her teenage daughter Clara. They have a strained relationship, which is exacerbated drastically by the death of Morgan’s husband Chris (Scott Eastwood) and sister Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald) and the uncovering of their secrets. Their grief pushes them apart instead of bringing them together, with Morgan turning to her sister’s boyfriend Jonah (Dave Franco) and Clara pursuing Miller (Mason Thames).
This film works best if you cast realism aside and just roll with the romantic fantasy. Director Josh Boone – best known for the 2014 tearjerker The Fault in Our Stars – tries his best with the source material but there’s no denying that there are some wild character decisions and major dramatic beats that would never happen in real life. There are declarations of love that happen quickly without being earned, and some character choices are so absurd and baffling that they made the audience laugh (presumably unintentionally).
The strongest storyline is Clara and Miller’s. They have a very cute relationship that feels more natural and realistic (even if Clara is sort of using him to anger her mum). Thames was my favourite thanks to his charm and cheeky attitude, and the fact that he doesn’t feel like he’s acting whereas the others do. Williams is good but she’s playing the same type-A character she always does and Franco’s character gave me the ick and I don’t think he quite hit the emotional depths required of his character. I would have preferred more focus on the fallout of certain revelations post-accident rather than these romances, but hey ho, that’s what’s in the novel!
Regretting You isn’t a complete write-off. Some of the dialogue is good and I laughed with it quite a few times, particularly at Clara and Miller’s hilarious friends Lexie (Sam Morelos) and Efren (Ethan Costanilla).
Overall, it’s a bit too clichéd and cheesy but you just might enjoy it if you suspend your disbelief a little bit.
In cinemas from Friday 24th October