Regretting You is finally here, and fans have been waiting for this project for a while. Big screen adaptations of beloved Young Adult novels have become a cinematic mainstay. But, does Regretting You manage to do right by the source material? I think so! And, in that way, fans of Colleen Hoover’s novel are going to be pleased with what they find on-screen. One thing that non-novel fans are going to have to understand walking in is that this is a YA story through and through. Yes, there are some adult themes in parts of Regretting You. But, the movie never forgets its focus on Clara, our main character.

McKenna Grace and Allison Williams are the stars of our story as Clara and Morgan Grant. Their relationship as mother and daughter provides the backbone of the film. While our rather dashing leading men (Dave Franco and Mason Thames, both natural romantic interests in their own age grouping!) do have their own struggles, the meat of our story revolves around the Grant women. Because of their emotional roller coaster, romance and drama fans will have a lot to chew on in this film.

Grace is a model student with just a tinge of rebellion as Clara and her anxious mother, Morgan, is rendered with the kind of understandable frustration by Williams. They navigate a pretty massive series of personal tragedies like real humans would. (Namely they spiral in the face of uncomfortable truths, both new and obscured by time!) It’s interesting and certainly a bit more weighty than non-book readers would have expected from this film!

Regretting You is a road trip through teenage years and into adulthood

Clara might be the focus of this story, but Regretting You begins with Morgan’s story as a teenage parent! The life she lost once that happened, and the idea that she has to move forward by the experience. Williams and Franco’s character Jonah are largely ruminating on the past. But, when the pesky present comes into play, how will they handle the ripples of a shared history?

The results are entertaining, if not predictable in some spots. If you let the emotion take you along for the ride, you’ll really enjoy Regretting You. Mason Thames is hot off becoming a Gen Alpha mainstay with that How To Train Your Dragon live-action role, and he’s the perfect teen heartthrob in Miller Adams. Franco’s Jonah is the kind of steadying presence that a lot of the moms in attendance will have some memories of from their younger days.

Sam Morelos’ character Lexie deserves her own spinoff to be honest. She’s Clara’s best friend and manages to have some of the best lines in the movie despite being along for the ride rather than in the middle of the spotlight. In an era where everything has to be “relatable,” I found Lexie to be the most “real” feeling of the characters because she was a good friend who occasionally doesn’t make the best decisions.

An emotional ride that’s tidy and will please book fans

It might seem like shortchanging Regretting You to label it as perfectly economical. But that’s what this movie is. If you went to the theater wanting to see Colleen Hoover’s beloved book adapted, then you’re going to leave very happy, especially for younger audiences who may never have seen this kind of drama on a big screen before. It seems like there’s a bit of a shift at play with major theater releases lately.

Audiences aren’t in a place anymore where every single project has to be this massive tentpole franchise. You can do a lot with a charming story with good acting from a couple of established names. That’s where Regretting You shines. Life is a journey, but it doesn’t always have to be world-ending stakes.

Forgetting You is ready to charm theaters on October 24.

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