When a film gives you a word like “Regret” in its title and it also isn’t very good, the jokes write themselves. So I won’t stoop to that level and say how much I regret watching Regretting You, the latest novel from Colleen Hoover (It Ends with Us) to be adapted into a movie (this time by director Josh Boone, The Fault in Our Stars). The film introduces us to Morgan Grant (Allison Williams), her husband Chris (Scott Eastwood), and their daughter Clara (Mckenna Grace). They seem like the perfect family, in no small part due to how close Clara is with her father, as well as her mom’s sister Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald) and her husband and Morgan’s high school best friend Jonah (Dave Franco). Jenny and Jonah have just had their first child, and this extended family unit spend a great deal of time together.
Then one day, everything changes when Chris and Jenny die in a car accident; it happens in Jenny’s car but Chris was driving, making Morgan and Jonah instantly suspicious of why they were together in the first place. After some investigation, they confirm that the two were having an affair; Morgan and Jonah make a pact to never let Clara find out because she looked up to both of them so much. But Clara is able to cope with this loss with the help of a new boy in her life, Miller (Mason Thames, also the lead in Black Phone 2, released last week), the most popular kid in school who was dating someone else until he met her. Miller is a good kid and genuinely seems like a good influence in Clara’s life, including encouraging her to apply to acting school at the same school where he’s trying go to film school. He even takes care of his ailing grandfather (Clancy Brown, who is utterly wasted in this drivel).
So naturally, the entirely of Regretting You is a countdown clock, waiting for the moment when Morgan and/or Jonah tell Clara the truth about her father and aunt’s shocking betrayal, ultimately making her realize how selfless her mother has been...though that doesn’t exactly help when she catches Morgan and Jonah kissing for the first time in a key moment once they realize they should have always been together. Nothing about the emotions in this movie feel authentic, and rather than let us see these kids get to know each other and talk to each other at length in an attempt to grow closer, we get montages of fun with a catchy tune playing on top of it. Did I mention the film is utterly predictable?
What could have been a mature story of resilience, bouncing back after a tragedy and the healing power of love is broken down into a truly uncomfortable losing-her-virginity scene with Clara that should never have been filmed. A great deal of the movie feels stilted and reactionary. Rather than consider the circumstances of each moment, the characters simply react in a way that further extends the movie with no regard for honest emotional content. Take this movie back to the vaults at Lifetime, where it belongs.
The film is now playing in theaters.
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