If you’re trying to rekindle your relationship with reading, most people will tell you to start with Colleen Hoover, a best-selling author and one of Time Magazine’s "Most Influential People of 2023." Hoover writes digestible contemporary romance, fiction and psychological thriller novels, three of which have now been turned into movies. “It Ends with Us” and “Regretting You” are box office hits and the latest release on March 13, “Reminders of Him,” grossed $28.2 million in its global debut.
I went into “Reminders of Him” expecting a corny, romantic tear-jerker. Instead, I got a predictable movie that somehow still left me with questions. Hoover writes breezy romance novels with damaged characters and tidy happy endings, but this adaptation was boring and unrealistic. Hoover’s Hollywood takeover has only just begun, and I’m not looking forward to what follows.
The movie follows KennaMaika Monroe) as she returns to her Wyoming hometown after serving time for an accidental car crash that killed her boyfriend Scotty (Rudy Pankow). Kenna plans to find a job and reconnect with her and Scotty’s daughter, Diem, whom she gave birth to in prison.
While job searching, Kenna meets Scotty’s best friend, Ledger (Tyriq Withers). The two never crossed paths because Ledger was a busy NFL star, so he didn't recognize her at first. By their second encounter, Ledger remembers who Kenna is, but the revelation doesn’t stop him from pursuing her relentlessly.
My biggest issue is how Ledger barely hesitates before hooking up with Kenna, creating a flat and tensionless relationship. Even after connecting Kenna to Scotty, Ledger is unfazed, although he should’ve been more loyal to his deceased best friend. I anticipated a “guilty pleasure” or “we shouldn’t be doing this” vibe, but they both seem unbothered.
Because of this, Ledger and Kenna’s relationship lacks depth and emotion. The chemistry between them is surface-level and immature. Hoover’s demographic is mostly young women, and this relationship has a “teenagers forever mentality.” They act out of pure horniness, and the lack of guilt or internal struggle makes the storyline emotionally shallow.
The main plotline should either be Kenna and Ledger’s love story or Kenna’s mission to get Diem back. The two don’t mix well, and Kenna seems more focused on Ledger than her daughter. Again, this makes their relationship seem immature and irresponsible, pulling away from what should be the most compelling part of the movie---Kenna building her relationship with Diem.
The film glosses over Kenna’s background and relationship with Scotty, making it hard to understand the characters, even though it was discussed in detail in the book. In the novel, Kenna is a damaged and complex character, but this movie lacks characterization. Without it, it's hard to connect or sympathize with Kenna or any other character in the movie.
The main conflict is Kenna’s relationship with Scotty’s parents, Grace and Patrick, who are raising Diem and want Kenna nowhere near her. Grace and Patrick paint Kenna as an evil person since she took their only son from them.
Kenna isn’t evil like Grace and Patrick think she is. On Scotty’s birthday, Kenna and Scotty went to a lake and split a measly little edible. They both seemed extremely sober, but since Kenna was “more sober,” she drove home. Kenna wasn’t driving recklessly or acting irresponsibly. Driving down the empty country road, she hit a rock and the vehicle was thrown off the road and flipped. Kenna got out of the car, concussed and found Scotty unresponsive, so she started walking to find help.
Kenna eventually collapses and is discovered by police, who tell her Scotty was still alive when she left. Without defending herself, the police and Scotty’s parents assume she’s a sinister villain who left Scotty to die, and Kenna pleads guilty because of the overwhelming guilt. This is the only way to make this storyline work as Kenna isn’t a horrible person, just misunderstood.
Hoover loves this kind of “trauma porn,” story, which is “any media that aims to depict suffering of one or more people for entertainment, or to evoke emotional responses into viewers.” The overreliance on a tragic backstory without thoroughly explaining it makes the movie feel hollow. The movie’s plot is based on Kenna’s trauma, but without the clarity, the movie doesn’t hit the way it could.
There was nothing emotional or “feel-good” about this story, especially when so much went unexplained. Hoover’s storytelling doesn’t translate well to the big screen, but as Hoover is the “new queen of Hollywood,” it seems like we’ll have more Hallmark slop coming our way soon.
Abby Shriver is a freshman studying journalism at Ohio University. Please note the opinions expressed in this column do not represent those of The Post. Want to talk to Abby about their column? Email/message them at as064024@ohio.edu / @abbyshriver_
