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If your social media feed is anything like mine, then for the past few weeks you\u2019ve been inundated with trailers for Colleen Hoover\u2019s new film adaptation, \u201cRegretting You.\u201d Going into the movie, I had already been spoiled by the trailer giving away most of the plot, so I figured I was about to watch some chick-flick slop not even fit to call itself a rom-com. Leaving, however, I realized I didn\u2019t completely hate the film. Don\u2019t get me wrong: It was hardly a cinematic masterpiece, but at least I left feeling entertained. And while the movie definitely has an intriguing premise, it tries to accomplish too much at once, ultimately leaving the audience unsatisfied.<\/p>\n
The film follows Clara Grant (McKenna Grace, \u201cGifted\u201d), her mom, Morgan (Allison Williams, \u201cM3GAN\u201d), and their respective romantic relationships. The opening scene reveals that Morgan and her then-boyfriend, now-husband, Chris (Scott Eastwood, \u201cStolen Girl\u201d), became pregnant with Clara in high school. We are also introduced to Morgan\u2019s sister, Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald, \u201cA House of Dynamite\u201d), and her eventual fianc\u00e9, Jonah (Dave Franco, \u201cTogether\u201d). Together they form a comforting and seemingly tight-knit family unit, but it all unravels once Jenny and Chris are killed in a car accident. Following Morgan, Clara and Jonah in their subsequent grieving, the film focuses on the new lives they must build in the wake of their old ones crumbling around them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The movie attempts to explore Morgan\u2019s grief after losing her husband and sister in many ways, including how their deaths revealed the pair\u2019s years-long hidden affair. This is where my problems with the film begin. It is absolutely devastating to learn your husband was cheating on you with your sister, and it is an innovative angle from which to look at the conflict between grieving a loved one and being angry with them at the same time. However, \u201cRegretting You\u201d establishes very few emotional stakes when it comes to Chris and Morgan\u2019s relationship. They have barely any screen time together before the accident, and the moments we are shown don\u2019t portray their dynamic in the best light. In one of the flashback scenes, we even see Chris say that \u201cdrunk Morgan is my favorite Morgan\u201d after she turns down a drink because she\u2019s pregnant with Clara.<\/p>\n
At this point, the film could have explored Morgan\u2019s feelings about getting married too young, marrying for the sake of her child rather than love or how her relationship with Chris deteriorated over time. Any of these storylines would have added more depth to her grief by fleshing out her undoubtedly already complex relationship with her high school sweetheart. Instead, we are only given glimpses of Morgan\u2019s internal struggle \u2014 a few short moments and off-handed comments about how she\u2019s been reduced to merely a wife and mother \u2014 that don\u2019t build upon each other. The closest she comes to stepping out of these roles is by choosing to redo their house, supposedly signifying a return to her passions. Unfortunately, the backstory for the decision is lazily set up, and the emotional significance behind it is not properly introduced.<\/p>\n