While author Colleen Hoover’s last book-to-movie adaptation – “It Ends With Us” – received mixed reviews and resulted in a lawsuit still ongoing about a year and a half after its release, her newest movie – “Regretting You” – just premiered last Friday, October 24.
Directed by Josh Boone, the film featured a star-studded cast. Playing the main character, Morgan Grant, is Allison Williams, known for her roles in the “M3GAN” movies and the HBO show “Girls.” Her daughter, Clara Grant, is played by McKenna Grace, who has been in many movies at her young age of 19, with her role in “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” being released this December.
The two starred alongside Dave Franco – whose film “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” will be premiering November 14 – and Mason Thames, whose popular film “Black Phone 2” just released one week prior.
The film focuses on the two women and their lives after an unexpected tragedy rocks their worlds and upends their family. Their individual and complex responses create tension between them that grows exponentially as the secret Morgan keeps from her daughter pushes on their relationship until it all blows up.
Franco and Thames’ characters might seem to be simple love interests at the surface level, but they themselves have problems of their own to deal with and work through as the film – and their relationship – progress.
The film’s premiere has been somewhat overshadowed by the multiple controversies surrounding Hoover and her books. Readers have criticized the way the author handles situations of domestic violence, specifically in “It Ends With Us,” as well as her writing style and abilities in general. However, “Regretting You” deserves its time in the spotlight as the actors deliver an emotional performance, and the plot is both cliché and unpredictable at times.
So if you can separate the film from Hoover’s controversies, gather up your friends – or boyfriend – and head to your local movie theater to see the heartwarming romantic comedy that is “Regretting You.”
Junior Emily Myers is a Staff Writer. Her email is emyers3@fandm.edu.