There’s something oddly fascinating about watching a Colleen Hoover story unfold on screen, not because it’s perfect, but because it taps into the parts of ourselves that are messy, contradictory, and painfully human. Regretting You, the latest adaptation of Hoover’s 2019 novel, brings that same energy to the screen: part romance, and part exploration of how grief can both destroy and rebuild the ties that bind a family together.

Directed by Josh Boone (The Fault In Our Stars), the film follows Morgan Grant (Allison Williams), a mother forced to pick up the pieces after her husband, Chris (Scott Eastwood), and her sister, Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald), are killed in a car accident. The tragedy fractures her already strained relationship with her teenage daughter, Clara (Mckenna Grace), whose grief takes the shape of rebellion, confusion, and the search for comfort in all the wrong places, including a budding romance with the school heartthrob, Miller (Mason Thames). As Morgan confronts the ugly truths that surface after her husband’s death, she finds an unexpected connection with Jonah (Dave Franco), her late sister’s fiancé, and the two attempt to make sense of the tangled emotions left in the wake of betrayal.

If that sounds like a lot, it’s because it is. Hoover’s stories often thrive in emotional overload: love and loss, heartbreak and hope, all mixed together in melodramatic knots. Boone’s adaptation embraces this tone but softens it with restraint. Gone is the flossy veneer of It Ends With Us (2024); Regretting You opts for a smaller, quieter canvas, set in modest suburban homes and coffee shops that feel lived-in rather than cinematic. The camera lingers on faces, tired eyes, hesitant smiles, unspoken pain, allowing the film’s emotional core to shine through without the need for sweeping monologues or forced tears. 

Williams delivers a grounded, mature performance as Morgan, to capture the exhaustion of a woman who’s been emotionally sidelined for years. Grace, meanwhile, is the real heart of the film. SHe perfectly balances Clara’s impulsive teenage defiance with the aching vulnerability of someone desperate for love and understanding. Their dynamic feels raw and believable, the kind of mother-daughter relationship that hurts precisely because it’s so recognizable. When the two finally reach their breaking point, the confrontation doesn’t feel scripted; it feels inevitable.

That said, not every part of Regretting You lands smoothly. Dave Franco’s Jonah feels oddly miscast, a character that’s meant to carry quiet guilt and tenderness instead comes off detached and awkward. The script also suffers from pacing issues; emotional beats sometimes drag, while other key revelations rush by without the depth they deserve. Viewers familiar with Hoover’s work will recognize her signature mix of heartbreak and healing, but the dialogue can occasionally veer into the overly sentimental, the kind of self-aware emotional writing that critics of Hoover love to mock.

Critics of Hoover’s work often cite her tendency toward melodrama and formulaic emotional writing, with characters making questionable choices and emotional arcs that border on contrived. But at the same time, there’s something disarming about how earnestly her characters feel about everything.

What elevates this adaptation is Boone’s ability to translate Hoover’s emotional chaos into something that feels human rather than performative. The grief isn’t polished; it’s awkward and unpredictable. The romance isn’t perfect; it’s hesitant and flawed. The film never fully decides if it’s a drama or a romance—maybe it’s both, maybe it’s neither.

Regretting You (2025) may not change your life, but it might make you text your mom, or at least remind you that regret, like love, has a way of finding its place in the stories we keep telling ourselves.

PHOTOS: Paramount Pictures International