Regretting You, starring Mckenna Grace and Mason Thames marks another entry into the young melodrama genre and the second adaptation of author Colleen Hoover’s work in recent years. Following the box office success of It Ends With Us, with none of the extra legal drama surrounding it, this movie has big shoes to fill. While early box office predictions show it may not stack up to that of its predecessor, the content of this film far surpasses that of It Ends With Us.
This movie surrounds family, loss, and most importantly, love; but at its core, as lead actor Mason Thames described, it’s a story about “Clara and her mother and how their relationship was, and how this tragedy kind of brings them closer.” It is the dynamic between Clara (Mckenna Grace) and her Mother (Allison Williams) that really drives home some of the most entertaining and emotional scenes in this film. The constantly shifting dynamic is portrayed beautifully by both actors, and their chemistry is amongst the best in the film. When they are on screen together, whether it’s laughter or sorrow, their portrayal shines in connecting to the audience and making them care for what happens next in their relationship.
Diving further into the acting of this film, Thames and Grace as Miller and Clara both deliver excellent performances as leads of the film and provide the true romance of the film. While the dialogue between them can be at times predictable and somewhat “basic” for the genre, their chemistry together elevates what would otherwise be a mediocre story to a very cute and entertaining love story. It’s no secret that Thames and Grace are the forefront of the marketing for this movie, especially for the younger generations. After seeing this film, it’s clear that this was the right move as their storyline is by far the best to see unfold on screen. “I think that they’re both very strong characters on their own, but I think that what’s beautiful about them coming together is not that they’re really taking or adding parts to each other, it’s just like they’re kind of there for each other, ” Grace explains. There’s a lot of truth to this, the differences in their upbringings and the way their characters approach these tough situations is what makes their story so interesting and their love so easy to root for.
With Miller and Clara both in their later years of high school, approaching college age, this movie not only deals with the change that comes with loss and familial betrayal but the change that may come from simply growing up. In a time that’s so full of change, Thames reflects, “A lot happens and you kind of find yourself, or you’re trying to figure out who you are…I think time and as you grow up it’ll distance and bring you closer to some.” The difficulties of growing apart, building new relationships, and losing old ones are ever present in this film, sometimes ad nauseum. The development of Clara and Miller in this film is at times completely sidelined for the blossoming relationship between Morgan (Clara’s mom) and her almost-brother-in-law Jonah (Dave Franco) in the aftermath of the betrayal (and death) of their partners via an affair.
While it is important to highlight that love can be found anywhere regardless of your age, and deal with these large life changes, this movie tries to balance too many of these “changes” to a fault. The relationship between Clara and her mom works in this film as a driving force of conflict and emotion. The love and frustration they have for each other really makes the audience care what happens between each other. Miller and Clara are THE romance of the film. Their relationship is very cute and so easy for the audience to get behind because of how well Thames and Grace work on screen together. The same can not be said for Morgan and Jonah. While Williams’ performance is great when dealing with themes of familial grief and being a mother in conflict with her daughter, her chemistry with Franco is stale in comparison to the love sparked between the two younger leads. Additionally, Franco’s performance as a whole feels awkward and half baked, and knowing what he’s capable of from previous roles I was disappointed with his contribution to this movie.
While this film isn’t perfect, and I probably would enjoy it even more if it was more of a Clara and Miller story, it still far surpassed expectations set by some of Colleen Hoover’s previous adaptations (It Ends With Us). I would give this movie a 3 out of 5 stars and recommend it if you’re looking for a cute romance or a fun date night movie!
(Quoted taken from a round table interview with Mckenna Grace and Mason Thames during a Regretting You press junket)
