On the surface, Regretting You seems like a typical teen romance. Mckenna Grace’s Clara is a bright young woman with a promising future. Mason Thames’ Miller has a heart of gold, but he comes from a troubled background and always has a lollipop in his mouth as if it were a cigarette. Clara’s parents don’t approve when she offers him a ride home. Will a rebellious romance blossom? While young love plays a key role here, there’s more to Regretting You than meets the eye… for better or worse.
Grace has been one of our best child stars for nearly a decade. That said, Grace isn’t a child anymore. She’s ready to be considered one of our best adult actors. Her raw performance in Regretting You is yet another sign that she’s the real deal. Thames, who seems to be in everything these days, has also continued to mature as an actor since he broke out in The Black Phone. They share a charming chemistry in a love story that, while not without some teen drama tropes, avoids the pitfalls you’d expect. There’s more than one moment where it seems like Miller is going to angerly storm out on Clara. The filmmakers know that we’ve seen this before, and thankfully don’t dwell on it.
Miller and Grace’s courtship is just part of this story. Allison Williams, who’s underrated as a dramatic actress, turns in some of her best work as Grace’s mother, Morgan. Dave Franco, another name who doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves, plays Grace’s uncle Jonah. He just became a parent with Willa Fitzgerald’s Jenny, who Grace feels more comfortable talking with about boys than her mother. When Jenny and Grace’s father Chris (Scott Eastwood) are involved in a fatal accident, three worlds fall apart.
Morgan and Jonah try to pick up the pieces, only to find new pieces that they didn’t realize were there. As they put this complicated puzzle together, the two begin to contemplate the roads taken and not taken. This easily could’ve deteriorated into a soap opera (and occasionally it does), but the actors bring genuine depth to their roles. In addition to processing grief, Regretting You is about people trying to figure out who they’re going to be. For Clara and Miller, their whole lives are ahead of them, although those lives can be derailed with one bad decision. Morgan and Jonah can’t undo the past, but it’s not too late for them to write a new future. Tragedy and betrayal hold them back, however. 
Josh Boone directed one of the best teen romances of the 2010s with The Fault in Our Stars. Although his career should’ve skyrocketed after that, he instead got saddled with The New Mutants. Boone has rebounded with Regretting You, even if it’s not in the same league as his first feature. There are one too many bombshells that are either easily resolved or inexplicably forgotten about by the end. It’s a little ridiculous, but when given the choice between a Nicholas Sparks or Colleen Hoover adaptation, the latter is clearly more entertaining.
It Ends with Us, also based on a Hoover novel, wound up becoming 2024’s sleeper hit (complete with a sleeper scandal). Regretting You’s production has seemingly been controversy-free, and could bring some welcome business to AMC, which gets plenty of product placement here. For what it is, Boone has made an effective tear-jerker that’s surprisingly humorous and well-acted, with Clancy Brown and Sam Morelos also turning in nice supporting work. Yes, the twists and turns will prove too melodramatic for some, but those in a date movie mood won’t regret it.