Risk your sanity. Regret everything.
Attempting to repeat the success of It Ends with Us without the media spectacle, Regretting You doubles down with a leading cast starring McKenna Grace, Allison Williams, Dave Franco, and Mason Thames, and the director, Josh Boone, from The Fault in Our Stars.
But even great acting and directing cannot stop the car-crash writing in Colleen Hover’s plotlines. Morgan, played by Allison Williams, finds out she’s pregnant with Clara, played by McKenna Grace, and marries her high school boyfriend.
From the very start, it’s clear the direction of the plot, with the non-subtle characteristics of the introverts, Morgan and Jonah, played by Dave Franco, in their relationships compared to their other halves, Morgan’s sister being Jonah’s other half.
Dave Franco plays the pining, vulnerable best friend very well, and as subtly as the film allows, though it’s let down by lazy original writing.
Flash to the present: Clara has her own high school romance. Driving to her mother’s birthday, she spots Miller Adams, played by Mason Thames, and stops to give him a ride home.
The driving force of the plot occurs the next day, when Clara’s father and aunt get in a car accident.
To both the actors, Dave Franco and Allison Williams, and the director, Josh Boone, credit, the hospital scene may be the most heartbreaking of the entire film. Allison’s disorientation as she loses two of the most important people in her life, and then zones in on Dave Franco, on the hospital floor with his newborn son, who smiles at his father, not understanding the gravity of his father’s cries.
But, lest we forget, this is based on a Colleen Hoover novel.
The twist? The husband and her sister were having an affair. An affair that plots back further than her reunion with Jonah, a plot further than their newborn, Dave Franco plays the mixture of a father grieving both his girlfriend and the possibility of his newborn’s paternity. Morgan at first is unwilling to believe Jonah’s concerns.
Until they agree to return to her husband’s car, which is parked at a hotel, even worse, a hotel he used to take Morgan to. A stomach turn, as Jonah returns with their stuff left at the hotel, and pulls out a piece of lingerie.
Morgan runs straight to her husband’s car, smashing it and kicking it, all while Jonah watches. Only to take the vehicle back to their house.
The plot between the mother and Jonah feels more substantial, more human, and driven by years of yearning without action.
In comparison, the daughter Clara, understanding, is going through turmoil trying to navigate life without her father and aunt, and a classic from Colleen Hover, placing guilt on herself for texting her aunt before the accident. This alone would be a great film, but it falls flat when it adds her romantic interest, Miller Adams.
It causes unnecessary pain to the love interest, unnecessary plotlines that are resolved within the next scene, since they are high schoolers, and many harsh decisions that Miller ignores as she grieves.
It seems that Colleen Hoover’s primary goal was to brand this as a YA Romance novel, rather than crafting a compelling story. This singular focus on romance leaves other important themes unexplored, leading to a sense of disappointment.
With such a focus on pure romance, the widening gap between Clara and her mother remains unaddressed, and the film’s exploration of grief feels overshadowed by teenage angst and romantic plotlines.
It’s truly disappointing, especially considering the promising opening act that centred on the mother-daughter relationship. The film seemed to be building towards something significant, only to veer off into more conventional romantic plotlines, leaving a sense of missed opportunities and loss.
The writing wanted too much; it tried to gather every theme, a piece of every kind of cake, without taking the time to develop, bake, and ice it. Making, frankly, a mess that the actors and directors tried their best to save.
“Dave Franco cries more than an entire theatre watching the movie, but hey, whatever pay cheque you need to fuel the Dave Franco universe of horror” One and a half stars.
Skye Collacott Williamson via Letterboxd
Skye Collacott Williamson 