In 2019, Colleen Hoover wrote an emotional story that left her readers with knowledge they did not know they needed until reading this book. I was most definitely one of those readers because this book changed my entire perspective on life. Regretting You is a story about Morgan, the mother of Clara and the wife of Chris. In the beginning of the book, she shares her story when she was a teenager while dating Chris, and her sister Jenny was dating Jonah, Chris’s best friend. They were all one happy friend group, but there was something off about the relationships. Jenny and Chris were both into partying and drinking, while Morgan and Jonah were both laid back and were not into the whole party scene. You would think that Jenny and Chris were meant for each other, while Jonah and Morgan were also meant to be. After graduation, Morgan found out she was pregnant with Chris’s child, and they got married and lived happily ever after, but not for long.
As time passes, the four of them are all adults. Jonah had moved across the country after telling Jenny they had gotten it all wrong, in terms of relationships, and now he is back after reconnecting with Jenny and having a baby together. After celebrating Morgan’s birthday all together with Clara, who is now 16, and the new baby, Morgan gets a disturbing call the next day. Her husband, Chris, was in an accident. When she gets to the hospital, she sees Jonah, who is there for Jenny, who was in the same car accident. Spoiler alert, they are both dead. This story reveals dirty secrets that cause a drift in the relationship between Clara and Morgan. It is filled with first love, unexpected drama, and anger that turns into a huge life lesson for all readers.
I could not believe it when I saw the announcement for this movie, but I was also scared I would be disappointed because, in my opinion, books are always better than the movies. Let me begin by saying, the directors and writers of this movie did not disappoint, because I have never watched a movie based on a book, and it was close to being the same. They did leave out some parts, but it still matched the entire plot, and from my perspective, that is really all that matters.
Watermelon Jolly Ranchers and pineapple on pizza
When reading the book, the watermelon jolly ranchers were significant because when they were all teenagers, Jonah would pretend he hated them just to save them for Morgan because they were her favorite. Later on, he told this to Morgan, which was the start of their relationship as she began to develop stronger feelings for Jonah. As Jonah revealed small things to Morgan from when they were younger, their bond began to grow stronger, which is why the watermelon jolly ranchers are an important element of their first stages of their relationship. In the movie, the first thing the camera shows in the car is the watermelon Jolly Rancher on top of the pile.
In the book, after Clara helps Miller move the city limit sign, Miller explains he is doing this because his favorite pizza place does not deliver to his address. She talks about her love for pineapple on pizza, and Miller is absolutely disgusted by this. At the end of the book, when he finally moves the sign to his house, they celebrate by ordering pizza, and he orders pineapple on it. While this may not sound exciting to someone who has never read the book, when I saw this in the movie, I was so excited. It wrapped the movie up, giving it a happy ending after all the drama beforehand.
The Film project and the color orange
I have to say, I was really disappointed after watching the movie and realizing they never included Clara and Miller’s film project. Throughout the entirety of the book, they both had this film project for Jonah’s class, where they had six months to create a film where they were competing against others. At the beginning of the project, Miller did not want to do it because of the tension between him and Clara, and knowing his girlfriend would not be happy about it. I felt like this project was what brought Clara and Miller together, which is why I was so disappointed they did not include it in the movie. There was so much tension due to Morgan being upset Jonah would even consider making them partners because of how Chris felt about Miller. Also, throughout the book, Miller and Clara would talk about their hatred towards the color orange, which is what the entire film was based on. On the bright side, in the book, after the author revealed the script of their film, it included Miller’s film, asking Clara to be his prom date, which they did include in the movie.
The Jonah and Jenny pregnancy cover-up
In the book and movie, it was revealed that Jonah and Jenny’s baby was actually Chris and Jenny’s baby. What was never shown in the movie was the fact that Jenny had gone to Jonah’s father’s funeral just to get back with Jonah and sleep with him to cover up that Chris was having an affair with Jenny. I believe this never should have been left out of the movie because it shows how brutally betrayed Jonah is. As viewers watch the movie, they feel betrayal, but they do not know how deep it actually is.
Morgan hiding the affair from Clara in a more complicated way
In the movie, we clearly see Morgan hiding the affair from Clara, but because the movie is only two hours, it is hard to add in every detail. In the book, Morgan is trying to protect Clara by lying and saying Chris was with Jenny because he was helping her with her car. Throughout the book, Jonah and Morgan have a hard time coming to an agreement because Jonah feels Clara should know she has a half-brother. The movie does not spend as much time showing Morgan’s constant panic about how she is going to tell Clara and what she is thinking about the accident, and why they were together.
Even with all of these missing pieces, the writers and directors of this movie did a great job bringing this book to life. I have never watched a movie where I have felt so connected to a book, which made me, as a reader, feel relieved. I remember after Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us movie, I was so angry during the entire film, but I did not feel this way during this movie. Even with the movie only being two hours, everything came together so well, and nothing about the plot was different. The cast did a great job bringing these characters to life, just as I imagined them to be after reading the book. If you have not read the book, go do that right now because you will not be disappointed.