Regretting You

Giana Geerdts • January 1 , 2026

Colleen Hoover’s newest film adaptation, “Regretting You”, hit theaters on Oct. 24. This highly anticipated movie is based on Hoover’s 2019 novel of the same name. However, upon its release, the film received a wave of negative reviews, receiving only a 28% positive rating on “Rotten Tomatoes”, a highly respected review website. Ironically, the general consensus being that the film was “regrettable all around”. As of Nov. 9th, “Regretting You” has garnered $38.1 million domestically and $32.4 million overseas. But do these numbers truly reflect the value of the movie? While, I wouldn’t go as far to call the movie terrible, I would place it at a respectable 6.5 out of 10 because it lacked true substance and depth.

The film opens in the late 2000s, introducing four teenagers, Morgan, played by Allison Williams, her boyfriend Chris, played by Scott Eastwood, her sister Jenny, played by Ella Fitzgerald, and Jenny’s boyfriend Jonah, played by Dave Franco, who all form a close-knit group. During the end of their senior year of high school, Morgan becomes pregnant with Chris’s daughter, Clara, portrayed by McKenna Grace. The rest of the film follows the fracturing relationship between Morgan and Clara years later when Chris and Jenny pass away in a car accident. A rift between them deepens as Morgan uncovers a longtime affair between the deceased, hiding it from Clara and instead confiding in Jonah who she begins to form a deeper connection with. Clara’s growing romance with Miller, played by Mason Thames, also fuels their conflict due to her mothers disapproval. In the end, they each must face the regrets of past decisions and unspoken feelings that were left unresolved. Junior Ariana Pacora-Ramirez explains how the film succeeds in portraying family struggles and grief in relationships.

“I think the movie did pretty well on portraying conflict,” Pacora-Ramirez said. “As someone who hadn’t read the book but watched the movie, it was very clear that the mom and daughter didn’t trust each other with the truth which resulted in [them] fighting all the time. The grief felt heavy, you could feel how much they were both hurting.”

While “Regretting You” has its moments of sweetness, it’s also a film that left me feeling conflicted. There's potential for the movie to be great, but it’s weighed down by awkward and cringy moments. The flashback scene between Chris and Morgan, for example, felt completely out of place and unnecessary. In the scene Chris and Morgan were in a pool together alone with their legs interlocked staring at each other, it might've worked better in the book where the awkwardness wasn’t visible, but on screen, it came across as forced. Furthermore, many of the characters themselves didn't feel as well-rounded as I had hoped. Clara, in particular, wasn’t all that likable. Her grief was understandable, but she often seemed to use Miller as her emotional pillow rather than allowing their relationship to grow organically. In addition, Jonah, who could have been given more to do. Why did he have to work at Clara’s high school? Are there no other high schools? Jonah working at Clara’s high school felt like a convenient plot device rather than a natural element of the story. He seems to appear whenever the story requires it, without any real explanation why he works there. Miller, on the other hand, was the only character who really showed depth through his authentic devotion to Clara. Miller also worked and took care of his grandpa entirely on his own. Still, there was a lack of depth overall, especially with the film's narrow focus on just the two families. The absence of a larger high school social scene with popular kids, parties and school clubs made the plot feel somewhat insular. Junior Madalynn Olmos shares her thoughts on the performances and a key scene.

“I would recommend [the film] to others, Mason Thames is so fine and I think his character was accurately portrayed as it was in the book.” Olmos said. “I also think the clip they included at the end of the movie was a nice touch, it was cute to see he had been thinking of her the whole time. I've been watching McKenna Grace [act] since I was younger, she really depicted what grief is like.”

Hoover has developed a reputation for dividing audiences through her often controversial work which even turned many away from watching this film.While many fans feel that her stories portray emotional complexity and traumatic situations in a raw and educational way, others argue that certain relationship dynamics in her novels are framed too sympathetically, and normalize abuse and toxicity in relationships.This tension is best illustrated by her highly praised, but also controversial 2016 novel “It Ends With Us”, that was adapted into a film in 2024, centers on a woman who ends up being trapped in a cycle of generational trauma and abuse. Hoover stated in 2021 referring to her “It Ends With Us” novel that she intended to educate her audience coming from a background of abuse in romantic relationships, stating, “I always say I write to entertain, I don’t write to inform or educate. But this book was a different beast.” Some say that the film and novel are incorrectly mislabeled as a “romantic drama”, noting that the book and movie feature no trigger warnings. Whether Hoover meant to romanticise themes of trauma, her readers are doing it for her anyway. This reputation has also affected her newer works, like “Regretting You”. While the plot mostly focuses on grief, love and self-discovery, the relationship dynamics, particularly between Clara and Miller, have sparked some concerns. In “Regretting You”, Clara’s journey through grief and emotional healing is central but there are moments when the portrayal of her relationship with Miller raises questions about unhealthy coping mechanisms. In the end, whether Hoover is a misunderstood storyteller or a careless romanticizer of trauma depends less on her intentions and more on her readers and how they choose to interpret her work, which is often negative. Junior Tia Bailey has her own opinion about Hoover and the controversy that continues to follow her.

“I don’t think Hoover romanticizes toxicity, [I think] she exposes it,” Bailey said. “Hoover writes in a way that feels human, I think she shows the kind of pain people don’t talk about even when it’s uncomfortable.”

Although Hoover’s reputation is a negative one to some, the themes she portrays in her novels invite personal interpretations of her stories, sparking conversation about love, trauma and the complexities of human relationships. Ultimately, the film’s quality isn’t defined by Hoover’s reputation, but by how the story is brought to life on screen and how it makes people feel. While “Regretting You” has its flaws, it still resonates with those who enjoy a good love story with a side of family drama. However, for those hoping for a more deep, impactful portrayal, it may fall short.