Credit: Abby Bergeron

Join WSPN’s Annabel Orcutt, Abby Bergeron and Mack Young as they review the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s “Regretting You.”

“Life has a funny way of surprising you,” main character Clara Grant said. After watching “Regretting You,” we were all surprised to say the least. Released on Oct. 24, the screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s “Regretting You” has been a huge success. “Regretting You” is the kind of movie that lingers in your mind long after watching it. The movie is relatable for adolescents through its depiction of teenage relationships. However, there is a lack of dissection into deeper subjects, leaving us both admiring the film’s heart warming content, but also criticizing parts of its execution.

“Regretting You” follows the storyline of 17 year old Grant, played by actor McKenna Grace, as she navigates her relationship with both her mom and the “coolest boy in school,” Miller Adams, which is played by actor Mason Thames. Grant’s story begins when she sees Adams on the side of the road, offering him a ride.

The movie opens with flashbacks of her mothers teenage life in order to establish her long-lasting dynamics with the other adults in the film. Grant’s mother Morgan Grant, which is played by actor Allison Williams, had C. Grant when she was only 18. The film run’s through M. Grant’s  navigation of her own romantic relationships, as well as her relationship with C. Grant.

At the start of M. Grant’s story, she is married to her high school sweetheart and C. Grant’s dad, Chris Grant, which is played by Scott Eastwood. M. Grant’s sister, Jenny Davidson, who is played by actor Willa Fitzgerald, recently had a child with her high school boyfriend Jonah Sullivan, portrayed by actor Dave Franco. The tension between Sullivan and M. Grant throughout the film is evident, which deepens when Davidson and Ch. Grant are killed in a car crash. After the accident, it is discovered by Sullivan and M. Grant that their late spouses had been having an affair for a long time, one of the main conflicts in the movie.

The relationship between Adams and Cl. Grant kicks off the second we are introduced to Cl. Grant. While driving to her moms birthday, she sees Adams on the side of the road, helping him move a road sign. In this scene, there are the first flickers of chemistry between the two, despite Adams having a girlfriend. The connection between these characters is unmatched, as both Grace and Thames are partners in real life. Overall, the movie did a great job of portraying teenage romance. Instead of fantasizing young relationships, the film captured the real life, raw intensity between them. From the thrill of their “honeymoon stage” to the pain of heartbreak, the relationship unfolded naturally, including the strong, genuine emotions of adolescence.

Early in the movie is when the main conflict is introduced: the car crash. M. Grant rushes to the hospital, where she runs into Sullivan. At the hospital, they are told both of their spouses died in a car crash together, and they started to speculate about an affair. For us, as the audience, it didn’t feel surprising, as the movie hinted at the affair before the characters found out. The crash felt rushed and unclimactic as well. There wasn’t any dramatic or suspenseful scene where the audience was waiting to see what was going to happen. Ch. Grant and Davidson just died right away. The way this death was portrayed didn’t allow the audience to feel any gut wrenching emotions, since we didn’t know much about the characters.

For Cl. Grant, some of her strongest emotions following the loss of her aunt and father arise at her fathers funeral. However, the film only skims the surface on Cl. Grant’s grief. The quick transition from the accident to the development of the relationship between Cl. Grant and Adams make the impact of the tragic deaths not strong because the feeling of tragedy gets lost in the movie.

Eventually, towards the middle of the movie, both Cl. Grant and Adams confess their feelings for one another. Then, the relationship takes off. The emotionality of the relationship -intense and shaky – is what makes it so realistic. Most teen relationships are unstable or extremely intense, because the teen brain is still developing. The last part of the brain to mature is the prefrontal cortex, which controls emotional regulation and reasoning, causing young adults to make risky decisions in relationships. The teenage romance was very well depicted, as Grace is 19 in real life and Thames is 18.

Not only was the love between Cl. Grant and Adams blossoming, but the sparks between M. Grant and Sullivan began to fly as well. However, their relationship was cut short when Cl. Grant walks in on her mom and uncle kissing. Cl. Grant storms off to her room in distraught, eventually texting Adams to come over. Instead of telling Adams her troubles, she masks them. Her lack of honesty impacts Adams and us as viewers emotionally because it depicted Cl. Grant as using Adams. This plot point also got skimmed over in the film. Because this conflict is one of the central topics brought up in the movie, it seemed disheartening to skim over this detail, as some viewers would like to further feel and unpack the emotional impact.

The movie also did a phenomenal job portraying the complexity of a mother daughter relationship. Like many other parent child relationships, the M. Grant and Cl. Grant fought an excessive amount, but M. Grant was consistently there for her daughter, despite the resentment she received.

The end of the movie closes with Cl. Grant telling her mom to pursue Sullivan, despite all her former concerns, following M. Grant’s confession that her late husband and sister were having an affair. Adams then asks Cl. Grant to prom extravagantly, projecting a short movie that he had composed over time, saying “You should go to prom with me.” The clips also display a video of Adams watching Cl. Grant perform in a play long before they got together. This moment was significant because it described just how long Adams had feelings for her. Admittedly, this scene felt like a full circle moment and really tied the relationship up in a nice little bow.

Other than that scene, the ending overall felt weak. It seemed almost rushed and certain major plot points were never dissected or even touched on, such as Cl. Grant’s trust issues, specific details of the affair and M. Grant’s personal growth beyond the accident.

Overall, “Regretting You” was a great feel good, teenage love story, yet it only dipped its toes into bigger topics, like grief. It felt like those real life emotions were not expanded enough and almost felt pointless to add in some places. However, the depiction of teenage love as confusing and emotional was on point, along with the complexities of mother daughter relationships.