TL;DR – A delightfully funny film filled with earnest emotion.

Post-Credit Scene – There is a mid-credit scene.

Disclosure – I was invited to a press screening of this film.

Setting the Scene

In my line of work, you tend to get a good sense of a film before you have even walked into a cinema, that is because so much of it gets released in the marketing process. However, today we have one of those gems that I knew nothing about before walking in, other than what you could glean from the theatrical poster. So, I could be completely surprised by the fun yet emotional romp I was about to watch.  
 
So, to set the scene, back in the day when they were teenagers, Morgan (Allison Williams), her sister Jenny (Willa Fitzgerald), and their boyfriends Chris (Scott Eastwood) and Jonah (Dave Franco) were inseparable. But when Morgan gets accidentally pregnant, she and Chris build a life together. Seventeen years later, Jonah has popped back into Jenny’s life after being away for over a decade, and they now have a new baby, Elijah (Ryan Conner Simmons/ William Burnham Simmons). Also, Morgan and Chris’ baby Clara (Mckenna Grace) is now all grown up and giving lifts occasionally to the cutest boy in the school, Miller (Mason Thames). Everyone is content with their lives, knows what their future will be, which is the right thematic moments for a tragedy to rip that all apart.

Cast Banter

One of the core strengths of the film is the fantastic banter between the cast. This is clearly a union of both the writing and also the cast bringing it to life. It was a delight to sit in a full cinema and listen to the laughs echo around me as everyone got on board with the film. Allison Williams feels like she might have been typecast as the mother of a precocious teen after M3GAN. However, there are some moments, like one of the best death stares in cinema, that show just how good she is in this. Mckenna Grace has to explore some very complicated emotions as her life gets completely turned upside-down. Mason Thames is as charming as ever, Clancy Brown owns every scene he is in, and Sam Morelos is a delight. Finally, shout out to the best baby in modern cinema.

 I will say that Regretting You might take the cake for the least believable teenagers in cinema history, because I am sorry, but no one believes 40-year-old Scott Eastwood has yet to graduate high school. Thankfully, that is not a large part of the film, so you can give it a pass. The unfortunate weak link for me in the cast was Dave Franco. I kind of get where he was going in this odd, reserved neurotic performance, but several scenes are actively made worse by his presence.

Narrative Themes

Overall, this is a film that is playing on three different dynamics. The first is the relationship between a mother and her daughter as they start to grow up. The second is a reasonably straightforward coming-of-age narrative. Finally, the third is how do you go on when someone’s death is not the worst thing to happen to you. It is that third that helps shape the film and the conflicts within. Quite often, the conflicts in these sorts of films feel forced, but here, I could always follow the emotional logic for every character’s actions. This is important because it keeps what could be a very chaotic story moving forward. We get explorations of consent, betrayal, loss, and trying to craft your future. Things progress at a predictable pace and ties up a bit too neatly at the end, but that is not a dealbreaker.

Production

The film is set in everywhere USA, which in reality feels like one of those generic towns outside of Atlanta that get subbed in for anywhere. There is nothing that stands out bar what looks like a very popular cinema for a small town. One of the interesting production choices they make in the film is that they always narrate the text bubbles that pop up. It is a little stilted, but then it also super works. Every part of the film does have this grounded feeling to it, which you kind of need to balance the high emotions.      

Conclusion

In the end, do we recommend Regretting You? Yes, we would. I was honestly surprised by just how much I connected with this film. The cast was a delight, and the narrative absolutely achieved what it set out to do. Have you watched Regretting You? Let us know what you thought in the comments below. If you liked Regretting You, we would recommend The Mountain to you because it is also a frequently funny film that still explores the strained relationships you can have with parents after trauma.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Regretting You
Directed by – Josh Boone
Screenplay by – Susan McMartin
Based on – Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
Music by – Nathaniel Walcott
Cinematography by – Tim Orr
Edited by – Marc Clark & Robb Sullivan
Production/Distribution Companies – Constantin Film, Harbinger Pictures, Frayed Pages Entertainment, Heartbones Entertainment & Paramount Pictures
Starring – Allison Williams, Mckenna Grace, Dave Franco, Mason Thames, Willa Fitzgerald, Scott Eastwood, Clancy Brown, Sam Morelos, Ethan Costanilla, Ryan Conner Simmons & William Burnham Simmons
Rating  – Australia: M; United Kingdom: 12A;