Regretting You – Review and Summary

“Regretting You” with its pursuit of levity and hastening through some of the book’s best moments, goes far beyond being a disappointment.

ByAmari Allah Hours Posted on

Spoiler Alert: This summary and review contains spoilers.

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“Regretting You” Film Details

  • Director(s): Josh Boone
  • Writer(s): Susan McMartin
  • Based On Work By: Colleen Hoover
  • Distributor: Paramount Pictures
  • Runtime: 1 Hour(s) and 56 Minutes
  • Public Release Date (In Theaters): October 24, 2025
  • Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Young Adult
  • Content Rating: Rated PG-13
  • Primary Language: English
  • Official Site Link

Movie Summary

Thanks to one car accident, life changed drastically for Clara. She lost her dad and aunt, Chris and Jenny, and her relationship with her mother, Morgan, became strained. On top of that, Jenny’s boyfriend, Jonah, now finds himself a single parent to their months-old kid, and this all happens during Clara’s senior year, when she could have used her aunt providing her guidance, especially as this boy she has long had a crush on, Miller, finally makes a move.

But, unfortunately for Clara, the tragedy of her life, Jonah’s, and Morgan’s didn’t begin and end with the car crash that killed Chris and Jenny. That was just the beginning of a painful, but eventually beautiful, chapter.

Cast and Characters

Clara (McKenna Grace)

  • Character Summary: 16-going-on-17-year-old Clara is an inspiring actress, with already some school plays under her belt. She is closest to her aunt, Jenny, who is her confidant, which isn’t to say she doesn’t have a healthy relationship with her mom, but Jenny is that cool aunt who gives you a sense of freedom that a parent can’t give. Hence, her death is a major loss.

Chris (Scott Eastwood)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Chris is Clara’s father, Morgan’s husband, who is a doctor, known to be playful, and went from Morgan’s high school boyfriend to husband of 17 years.

Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Jenny is a nurse, Jonah’s long time off, but recently rekindled girlfriend, and the mother of their first child. She is also Clara’s favorite person and confidant.

Morgan (Allison Williams)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Morgan, at one time, was someone well known for drawing, being Chris’ beau, and eventually Clara’s mom. However, with Clara almost an adult, she has a desire to break out of who she was to other people and rediscover her passions and identity.

Jonah (Dave Franco)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Jonah is a teacher at Miller and Clara’s school, Jenny’s boyfriend, Chris’ best friend, and is known for being Chris’ opposite due to him being quieter and reserved around most, though that is sometimes not the case around Morgan.

Miller (Mason Thames)

  • Check out other productions we’ve covered starring this actor: [Link to Actor’s Tag]
  • Character Summary: Miller is the son of the town’s former local drug dealer, who is being raised by his grandfather, and is known for always having a lollipop in his mouth.

What To Expect In “Regretting You” (Rated PG-13) – Content Overview

  • Dialog:
    • Cursing: Occasional
  • Sexual Content:
    • Sexual Situations: Implied/ Explicit
  • Miscellaneous:
    • Drinking: Yes
    • Drug Use: Recreational
    • Vomiting: Yes
    • Smoking: Yes

Other Noteworthy Information

  • For fans of the book, know that anything dealing with the color orange is removed.

Review and Commentary

Low Point(s)

The Tone Feels Off, And Comic Relief Takes Away So Much From The Film [64/100]

Let me begin by saying, with reading the book, that is where most of the criticism below comes from, but I would even say that if you didn’t read the book, you may feel like something is off. To begin, all of the tension that exists in the book is removed.

In the book, Clara and Morgan’s relationship becomes strained because Clara isn’t aware of what her dad and aunt allegedly did. So, Morgan is spiraling because of her money worries, trying to navigate the betrayal of her sister and husband, paired with no cable, the only way she watches entertainment, it means she has to look at her husband’s family home, pictures, their bed, and just as she calms down, she gets angry all over.  

Then there is Clara, who isn’t making things easier because she is hurting too, and still holds her father and aunt in this almost saintly way. Which makes it so Morgan, to be petty, reveals Jenny wasn’t the sage of advice Morgan thought she was, it was actually all her, and Jenny just repeated what she said. Add in making Morgan feel she isn’t respected as a parent, and the two butt heads repeatedly. Whether it is about Miller, Clara’s crush, Clara’s first time doing weed, or other things that come off rebellious, it makes Morgan feel like she has to double down in order to assert her authority, even to the point of stripping Clara’s room of all the things she loves as punishment.

The movie strips away most of that. Morgan has her reality TV, has alcohol, and money woes aren’t really brought up, and when it comes to Clara, there is no tension there. They may butt heads every now and again, but Morgan is painted as a stereotypical gentle parent. It’s sometimes comical how she repeatedly grounds Clara, who ends up going out with Miller in the next scene, with no consequences at all.

Then, of course, Clara has these comic relief moments, which really push the idea that her mother has no influence or power over her, even to the point of staring her down in a “Yeah, I did it, and so what?!” type of way. It all just leaves you feeling like they wanted to shift the tone of the book, when adapted, from a drama to a comedy.

Heck, even the Jonah issue, regarding his relationship with Jenny, and Jonah’s relationship with Morgan, is alleviated of all its complexity, and even his struggles with potentially raising another man’s child are swept under the rug. It genuinely feels like someone thought Regretting You needed a heavy dose of levity or else no one could enjoy the movie.

It Speeds Through Moments Which Should Have Held More Weight [63/100]

Then, to make things worse, on top of the tone feeling off, and potentially an unintended sense of comedy, you have moments that are addressed that are in the book, but do not hold weight. Mind you, the actors seem to get what the moment should mean, like Jonah potentially abandoning Elijah, Miller dealing with the fact he has feelings for Clara but has a girlfriend, but it rushes through all that.

It takes away the drama, it takes away the build to notably romantic scenes, and it all feels like the most unfortunate way adaptations can be handled where they know they can’t omit an entire moment in the book, so they speed through it out of obligation – even if it is an iconic moment, like the one Miller has near the end of the book.

On The Fence

You Could Submit It Is The Writing, Editing, And Maybe The Direction Which Is The Issue Here [74/100]

Let’s be fair here, the actors do the best with what they’ve got, and this being an adaptation means readers have an idea in their head how things should be handled, and the movie format can’t accommodate. In the book, the perspective jumps from Morgan to Clara from chapter to chapter. Also, there is more time spent in the past to establish relationship dynamics before Clara is introduced.

I could go on and on, but what I want to be clear about here is that, despite feeling like the writing is formulaic, the editing is in the style of a throwaway streaming movie that is more so content than a film, and direction which makes it seem the actors were told to treat this as a romantic comedy burdened by the drama it had to address from the book, the actors can still get a reaction out of you.

When tasked to handle the deaths of Chris and Jenny, at first, there is something there to empathize with. As Miller and Clara grow close, you can get butterflies, and in many ways, you see everyone try to pull a Meryl Streep with turning a mediocre script into a decent movie.

However, there comes a point when it is hard to feel like any of them, or as a combined force, can steer Regretting You back into something respectable and not what feels like something akin to what you see in unauthorized biopics, but in this case, it being a book adaptation.

Overall

Our Rating (67/100): Negative (Acquired Taste)

Just to give you an idea of how serious getting a negative rating is here on Wherever I Look, this is only the second movie of the year to get that rating, out of the 154 movies or shorts published this year. And I’ll reiterate, it is because we enjoyed the book so much that we heavily criticize the film. Also, what doesn’t help is that the casting is good, it is just the actors aren’t so good that they can take a script which is a bastardized version of the book and make something of it that doesn’t feel like a cash grab.

So, if I were you, I’d just get an audiobook of the source material and potentially skip the movie, unless you are just a big fan of anyone involved and want to support them.

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Amari is the founder and head writer of Wherever-I-Look.com and has been writing reviews since 2010, with a focus on dramas and comedies.