I expected to hate “Regretting You” because I didn’t like Colleen Hoover’s previous movie adaptation, “It Ends with Us” — yet, I left the theater pleasantly surprised.
“Regretting You” follows Morgan and her daughter, Clara, as they cope with the death of Chris, Morgan’s husband and Clara’s father, who dies in a car accident. After his death, Morgan discovers that her sister, Jenny, had been having an affair with Chris. Jenny also dies in the car accident because she was with Chris.
This leaves our mother-daughter duo navigating grief and their own relationship, as well as their romantic relationships post-death.
I don’t gravitate toward Hoover’s stories because they don’t resonate emotionally for me, and despite the serious nature of this film, it made me laugh more than anything because of the lovable side characters and cringey acting.
What I liked
Even though there are heavy topics like death and affairs, the movie itself was funny. The heaviness of it didn’t feel overbearing, where you left the theater feeling depressed. What really made me laugh were the side characters like the daughter’s love interest’s grandpa, and her best friend, Lexie. Who knew an old man and a teenager would have me cracking up throughout this film?
These lovable side characters’ dialogue in serious moments is what created that room to breathe and made you feel like you were allowed to laugh. In one specific moment, the best friend says, “We’ve all got to ride this shit out together,” during an uncomfortable dinner party for the daughter, who’s fighting with her mom.
Even though I found the main actors’ performances cringey, I have to say I love my 5-foot-7 king, Dave Franco. He’s the only core character who pulled off the seriousness of the film and didn’t make his acting feel unnatural.
Another thing I enjoyed is the music because it’s RARE to hear current, Gen Z-type of music in films. We got to hear Noah Kahan, Suki Waterhouse and Role Model. Every time a song came on, I kept thinking, “OK, this is a fire playlist.”
Seeing this in theaters was truly a collective experience with every single person watching the movie. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard gasps, laughs and genuine reactions from the audience. I felt connected to the strangers sitting around me because I could tell we were all feeling and experiencing this movie together — and you can’t have that experience when streaming films.
What I didn’t like
The acting from the core actors was straight up cringey. Especially from the mother, played by Allison Williams. This life-shattering tragedy happens in her life, and I didn’t feel her pain or her grief AT ALL.
I also didn’t feel connected to the daughter, played by Mckenna Grace. I wasn’t feeling any kind of sadness from these actresses; I only felt their yearning for the new men in their lives. For a film that has a major tragedy in it, the movie lacked emotional depth. And for someone who’s had three movies hit No. 1 at the U.S. box office, I’m not impressed by Mason Thames.
I feel like I saw the ENTIRE film just from watching the trailer. All the key moments and even the twist that Morgan’s husband and sister were having an affair ARE IN THE TRAILER. There’s no mystery going into the theater, and I like to be at least a little surprised at what’s going to happen.
Also, there was this very strange technique used when text messages were sent. There’d be voiceovers from the actors that played over the messages — and I HATED that. It’s OK to show text messages on screen, but why the hell do we need a voiceover when we can read? It’s another aspect that made me feel like this film wasn’t that serious because it came off as funny.
The verdict
I’m rating “Regretting You” a 2.5 out of five stars because I did like it more than I thought I would. However, I can’t get past the lack of emotional depth and the pure cringiness of the acting.
At the end of the day, this is a film you HAVE to experience in theaters because it’s a connecting moment with other people in the audience. You can’t beat the experience of hearing and seeing other people’s reactions in the theater, which is why I’d say this is the ultimate guilty pleasure type of movie.
