By Madison Smith, Managing editor of content

It’s no secret that Colleen Hoover has been turning her books into movies at lightning speed over the past few years. Some land emotionally, most land somewhere between “okay” and “why was this necessary?” 

“Regretting You,” released in October of this year, is the latest addition to the Hoover Cinematic Universe. Despite the mixed critical buzz, it still managed to debut as the number one film in the U.S., thanks to its opening box office success.  

While the release of this film is impressive as far as monetary success, there is still a lot to be said for the actual content of the film. 

The film follows what appears to be your typical American family, centering on Morgan Grant (Allison Williams), who married her high school boyfriend after an unexpected pregnancy. Their marriage is fragile at best, and things get even messier with the reappearance of Jonah (Dave Franco), Morgan’s almost–first love who also happens to be involved with her sister.  

It’s exactly as uncomfortable as it sounds. 

The other central character is Morgan’s teenage daughter, Clara Grant (Mckenna Grace), whose relationship with her mother is as strained as the plot is stretched. Clara is busy navigating her own romantic drama with Miller Adams (Mason Thames). 

At first glance, this all sounds like the setup for a typical romantic family drama. But then, just fifteen minutes in, the film hits fast-forward on tragedy: Morgan’s husband and sister die in an off-screen car crash. No buildup. No emotional attachment. Just *poof* gone. To make things even more complicated, it’s heavily implied they were having an affair with each other. So yes, the movie skips subtlety and dives straight into emotional chaos without giving the audience time to care. 

Just when you think the emotional detachment has peaked, Clara steps in to prove otherwise. She quickly establishes herself as the most unlikable character in the film by skipping her own father’s funeral to get high with Miller in a grocery store parking lot. Meanwhile, Morgan is left to grieve alone while also comforting the audience, who are still trying to figure out if they’re supposed to feel anything at all. 

The relationship between Morgan and Clara should be the emotional core of the movie, but instead it’s just watching Clara crash out at her mother who is reasonably upset with her daughter’s attitude. Their character development is not just slow; it’s nonexistent.  

It’s eventually confirmed that Morgan’s late husband and her sister were absolutely having an affair. With that bombshell out in the open, Morgan and Jonah suddenly have full moral clearance to become the most emotionally irresponsible caregivers in cinema. 

And let’s not forget Jonah’s new reality: he’s now raising the child of his dead lover (yes, Morgan’s sister), and the film really wants us to feel something about it. But with the way it’s written, it’s hard to decide if we’re watching a movie or a poorly timed soap opera. 

The only redeemable character in this entire film is Miller (Mason Thames). He spends the entire runtime being emotionally whiplashed by Clara, who uses him for everything from comfort to anger-fueled hookups, yet he remains patient, respectful and inexplicably supportive. He never belittles her trauma or her behavior, despite having every reason to walk away. 

Miller is a refreshing break from the emotionally shallow, commitment-phobic teenage boy stereotype. In fact, he’s more emotionally mature than half of the adults in this movie. He makes Jonah look like he’s still figuring out middle school romance, not navigating grief, fatherhood, and forbidden love. 

While I could overlook many of the film’s flaws, “Regretting You” does have moments of charm and humor that make it somewhat enjoyable. However, its biggest downfall is pacing. The film would have been far more effective if it had focused on just one romance instead of attempting to juggle two.  

In trying to squeeze every emotional nuance from the book into a two-hour runtime, it rushes through crucial developments and leaves audiences to fill in the blanks on their own. 

Overall, while this film is deeply flawed, it’s far from the worst Colleen Hoover adaptation out there. To its credit, it doesn’t romanticize abuse like some of her other works, and it has a few genuinely funny and charming moments. That said, I wouldn’t pay full ticket price to see this in theaters, nor do I believe it’s destined to become the next iconic rom-com. 

But if you’re in the mood for a perfectly average movie, one that delivers mild entertainment, a couple of laughs, and only a moderate amount of emotional chaos, then “Regretting You” might just be the right kind of okay.