No regrets, right? Oh boy… I have plenty.

“Regretting You” follows Morgan and her daughter, Clara, as they confront family secrets, redefine love, and rediscover each other after a devastating accident. Based on Colleen Hoover’s novel of the same name, the film attempts to adapt her storytelling for the screen – but loses its sincerity in translation.

Full of immense tragedy, “Regretting You” has the potential to be an emotional journey for audiences of all ages. Instead, it ends up being one of the most immature movies of the year.

Style Over Sincerity

“Regretting You” is completely out of touch with reality. It’s a film that has the power to truly speak on grief and trauma, but instead chooses to take every juvenile route possible. Even in the film’s most heightened emotional moments, the stakes feel immeasurably thin.

After almost every gut punch, “Regretting You” feels obliged to deliver a forced laugh. This lack of consistency causes the movie’s tone to be all over the place. Constantly switching from teenage humor to world-shifting reveals, it isn’t able to flow smoothly.

Rather than being interested in telling a coherent story, “Regretting You” is more focused on delivering twists and turns. Some are compelling, others aren’t. The problem isn’t the reveals themselves but rather their rushed nature.

A Screenplay at War with Itself

This is a wildly inconsistent screenplay. “Regretting You” runs 116 minutes but at times feels like three hours. With fabricated stakes, underdeveloped characters and an unrealistic sense of the world – it’s a bizarre film to say the least.

The characters are another aspect that it has no idea what to do with. Balancing more mature themes against high school drama, the film succumbs to the latter more often than not. While Dave Franco (Jonah) and Allison Williams (Morgan) feature a more compelling storyline, it’s constantly cut off by adolescent plot points and clichés.

The performances bring some life to “Regretting You.” Franco and Williams, specifically, save the movie from utter disaster. The pair bounce off each other well, bringing genuine emotion to the screen. Williams goes through an array of feelings, with Franco mostly serving as her composed counterpart.

Mckenna Grace (Clara) and Mason Thames (Miller) both succeed as well. Their character arcs are nowhere near as interesting as Franco and Williams’, but they make the most of what they’re given.

Beauty in Small Moments, Lost in Chaos

“Regretting You” also provides a shameless array of brand placements – which often earn more focus than the plot itself.

Despite its issues, “Regretting You” is well-shot and edited (outside of those text messages…). Though it doesn’t take place in any extravagant environments, the film captures beauty in small moments.

There’s undeniably a crowd for this movie. It wasn’t me.

“Regretting You” features seriously talented performers. That doesn’t mean the movie itself deserves to be taken seriously. Unable to effectively balance the adult and teenage themes, it’s a muddled experience from start to finish. With no culmination of meaningful ideas, “Regretting You” leaves many… regrets.

Rating: 1 out of 5