Regretting You Review

Directed By: Josh Boone
Written By: Susan McMartin; Based on the book by Colleen Hoover
Runtime: 116 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG-13 for sexual content, teen drug and alcohol use, and brief strong language.

Allison Williams – Morgan Grant
Mckenna Grace – Clara Grant, Morgan’s daughter
Dave Franco – Jonah Sullivan
Mason Thames – Miller Adams
Willa Fitzgerald – Jenny Davidson
Scott Eastwood – Chris Grant
Clancy Brown – Hank Adams
Sam Morelos – Lexie
Ethan Costanilla – Efren

The Fault in Our Stars filmmaker, Josh Boone, tries his hand at another romantic drama adaptation with Regretting You. Based on the bestselling book of the same name by Colleen Hoover, Boone attempts to weave a tale about lost love and overcoming tragedy. Unfortunately, his cinematic vision of Hoover’s novel lacks genuine verve and emotion.

Regretting You begins with a prologue, revealing a group of adult actors doubling as their teenage selves. Morgan Grant (M3GAN 2.0 star Williams) finds that her life is about to turn upside down, discovering that she’s pregnant with the baby of her high school sweetheart, Chris (Eastwood). Meanwhile, her high school friend, Jonah Sullivan (Franco), is dating Morgan’s little sister, Jenny (Ford).

The story picks up seventeen years later, as Morgan plays the role of Chris’ diligent housewife and the dutiful, strict, and overprotective mother to their sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara (Grace). Meanwhile, Jonah has recently returned to his childhood home, after vanishing without a trace, shortly after completing high school. After returning to North Carolina, Jonah reconnected with Jenny, and they have an infant son, Elijah. Jonah and Jenny are just now starting to discuss marriage.

Unfortunately, a tragedy soon strikes, shattering the families’ collective worlds and unveiling a heartbreaking secret. Morgan struggles and attempts to shield her teenage daughter from the shocking revelations. Meanwhile, Clara (Grace) forms a romance with the apparent high school bad boy/heartthrob, Miller Adams (Thames). Drama ensues as Morgan reels from the trauma of a tragic event and a devastating secret discovered in the aftermath, which Morgan fears could tear her remaining family apart.

Morgan is likely projecting some of her own concerns about her teenage pregnancy onto her daughter, as Clara grows closer to the genuinely gentlemanly Miller. Everything about Regretting You unfolds in a very shallow, perfunctory, uneventful manner, resulting in a banal experience that lacks genuine emotional stakes.

The romantic drama borders on near-parody melodrama, as the movie’s biggest laughs derive from what are intended to be the sadder, more heartfelt moments. The result is an experience that develops in a tonally uneven manner, and what should play out as the most devastating scene treats the event rather casually. The tragedy never feels heartbreaking. The emotions never feel heightened. Morgan’s sense of wistful longing for an unfulfilled love lacks the genuine effervescence to sell such a subplot.

The actors are not altogether bad, considering they were required to work with such subpar material and awkward dialogue. Additionally, the plot unfolds with all the rough edges sanded down. As a result, Regretting You lacks any genuine suspense or sense of conflict. For example, Boone reveals his hand too quickly with Miller, who proves to be a good kid with a heart of gold, who is passionate about pursuing film school, while Clara wants to be an actress.

The narrative initially introduces Miller as the mysterious bad boy type and the son of the guy who previously dealt drugs to Chris in their teens. Miller’s character could have served as an intriguing form of generational bias, with the son suffering for the sins of the father, which would have added some interesting conflict and weight to Morgan’s overprotective nature.
Clara and Miller’s sweet, syrupy teen romance juxtaposes Morgan and Jonah’s yearning for one another, and at the consummation of their feelings. However, Regretting You cannot even achieve that schmaltzy romantic drama style very well. Regretting You features an appealing small-town North Carolina charm, but the plot lacks sufficient bark, as well as bite.

Where To Watch Regretting You

Regretting You hits theaters on October 24 in the U.S. Ticket details and showtimes are available on the film’s website

3.0

The final score: review Bad

The 411

Regretting You plays out like a schmaltzy, underwhelming romantic drama where all the sharp edges have been whittled away. Josh Boone's direction and Susan McMartin's script, adapting Colleen Hoover's book, lack genuine stakes and conflict. There are laughs throughout the experience, but they usually derive from moments and scenes that aren't supposed to be funny. The actors showcase hints of a better movie, such as the mother-daughter relationship between Allison Williams' Morgan and Mckenna Grace's Clara, and Mason Thames' struggle with people's preconceived notions about him. However, Regretting You never pulls it off. It's a romantic drama with small-town charm, but not much else to offer.