Verdict: 2.5 out of 5. Regretting You is a film that wants to break your heart, and in its best moments it does. It is also messy, overwrought and frequently at war with itself — which may explain why critics largely rejected it while audiences embraced it anyway. If you love Colleen Hoover’s novels, or you simply want a big, unapologetic weepie for a night in, there is something here for you. If you want restraint, look elsewhere.
Directed by Josh Boone from a screenplay by Susan McMartin, the film adapts Hoover’s 2019 novel about a mother and daughter forced to rebuild their relationship after tragedy. Morgan Grant, played by Allison Williams, put her own ambitions aside to raise a family. Her teenage daughter Clara, played by McKenna Grace, is determined to live on her own terms. When a devastating accident claims two people close to them, long-buried secrets come to light, and the trust between mother and daughter is tested to breaking point. Running alongside the family story is Clara’s tender, complicated romance with Miller Adams, played by Mason Thames.
The film at a glance
| Detail | Regretting You |
|---|---|
| Director | Josh Boone |
| Screenplay | Susan McMartin, from Colleen Hoover’s 2019 novel |
| Cast | Allison Williams, McKenna Grace, Dave Franco, Mason Thames, Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald, Clancy Brown |
| US theatrical release | 24 October 2025 (Paramount Pictures) |
| Runtime | 116 minutes |
| Rating | PG-13 |
| Reported budget | Around $30 million |
| Worldwide box office | Over $90 million |
| Critical reception | Around 29% on Rotten Tomatoes; audience score in the mid-80s; B CinemaScore |
McKenna Grace carries the film
The clearest strength of Regretting You is its young lead. Grace gives Clara a convincing mix of grief, defiance and vulnerability, and she is at her best in the quiet scenes — the ones where a look does more work than a speech. Her chemistry with Thames gives the romance a genuine sweetness, and the film is most alive when it simply lets the two of them be teenagers figuring out feelings far bigger than they are.
Williams, as Morgan, has the harder job. She must play a woman grieving, angry and guilty all at once, often while the script asks her to keep major emotions bottled up. She is committed, but the writing does not always give her the space to show Morgan’s interior life. Dave Franco brings warmth as Jonah Sullivan, a steady presence in a story full of emotional storms, while Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald make a strong impression in limited screen time.
Where the adaptation strains
The problems begin with structure. The novel moves between Morgan’s and Clara’s perspectives, and the film tries to honour that split. On screen, however, the shifts can feel abrupt, and the story sometimes races past moments that needed room to breathe. A revelation that should land like a gut punch is occasionally followed, almost immediately, by another twist, so the audience barely has time to absorb one shock before the next arrives.
The tone is similarly uneven. Boone, who previously directed The Fault in Our Stars, clearly understands how to stage an emotional set piece, but here the film veers between earnest family drama and full melodrama. Some scenes are genuinely moving. Others lean so hard into sentiment that they tip into soap opera, and the dialogue occasionally states aloud what the performances have already made clear.
That unevenness is reflected in the critical response. Reviewers widely criticised the film’s convoluted plotting and its two-hour running time, while praising Grace’s performance. Audiences, by contrast, rated it far more warmly, and the film went on to earn more than three times its reported budget worldwide before finding a second life on streaming. The divide is the story of this film: it is not a critics’ movie, but it plainly connected with the readers and romance fans it was made for.
What the film gets right about grief
For all its excess, Regretting You understands one thing well: grief does not arrive in a neat order. Morgan and Clara grieve differently, blame differently and heal at different speeds, and their worst arguments come not from cruelty but from the fact that they are hurting in incompatible ways. The film’s best argument is that forgiveness is not a single decision but a slow, repeated choice — and that a mother and daughter can love each other deeply while still struggling to understand each other.
It also deserves credit for treating Clara as a person rather than a plot device. Her romance is not just a distraction from the family drama; it is part of how she learns to trust again. The scenes in which she pushes back against her mother, not out of spite but out of a need to be seen, feel honest in a way the film’s bigger twists sometimes do not.
Should you watch it?
Watch Regretting You if you loved the book, if you enjoy emotional romantic dramas, or if you want to see McKenna Grace confirm herself as one of the most promising young actors working today. Go in expecting melodrama, and you may find yourself moved despite yourself. Expect a tightly constructed drama, and the film’s bagginess will frustrate you. Either way, it is a useful reminder that critical consensus and audience affection do not always point in the same direction — and that a flawed film can still matter to the people it reaches.
Frequently asked questions
What is Regretting You about? It follows Morgan Grant and her teenage daughter Clara after a tragic accident exposes family secrets, forcing them to confront grief, rebuild trust and redefine their relationship, while Clara begins a romance with Miller Adams.
Who stars in Regretting You? Allison Williams plays Morgan Grant, McKenna Grace plays Clara Grant, Dave Franco plays Jonah Sullivan and Mason Thames plays Miller Adams, with Scott Eastwood, Willa Fitzgerald and Clancy Brown in supporting roles.
Is Regretting You based on a book? Yes, it adapts Colleen Hoover’s 2019 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Susan McMartin and direction by Josh Boone.
Why did critics and audiences disagree on Regretting You? Critics widely faulted its convoluted plotting and melodramatic tone, giving it a score around 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, while audiences rated it far more warmly, with an audience score in the mid-80s and a B CinemaScore.
Where can I watch Regretting You? After its October 2025 theatrical run, the film arrived on Paramount+ in December 2025 and has since been available on streaming services, where it found a large second audience.