REMINDERS OF HIM (2026)

Starring Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Graham, Bradley Whitford, Jennifer Robertson, Zoe Kosovic, Monika Myers, Hilary Jardine, Nicholas Duvernay, Rick Koy, Jillian Walchuck, Anne Hawthorne, Skye MacDonald, Susan Serrao, Laird Reghenas, Kevin Corey, Bud Klasky, Russell Bull, Daniel Vasquez and Rory Edgar.

Screenplay by Colleen Hoover and Lauren Levine.

Directed by Vanessa Caswill.

Distributed by Universal Pictures. 114 minutes. Rated PG-13.

A few years ago I was part of an online book forum, and there were few authors more divisive than romance scribe Colleen Hoover. For everyone who was a devoted fan (and there were many of those), there were just as many people who loathed her books. I always was interested in giving her a try myself but still have not yet. However I am in the minority, as Hoover has sold over 20 million copies of her novels.

Now she is taking over the movies. At this point Hoover’s books have been turned into three movies in about two years (this one following It Ends With Us and Regretting You), with a fourth one due in October (Verity). That gives her perhaps the most impressive run of novel-based romance films since Nicholas Sparks’ hot streak about 10-20 years ago (which ended up inspiring 11 films between 1999 and 2016, including Message in a Bottle, The Notebook, Nights in Rodanthe and Dear John).

Like I said above, while I have never read any of Hoover’s books, I’ve always meant to pick one up. Also, I somehow missed the first two Hoover movies. Still, I’m not a guy who has an issue with so-called “chick lit,” in fact I have read several books by similar romance author Kristin Hannah and I’m a huge fan of her work. And, honestly, I have to admit that Reminders of Him, which is based on a 2022 novel of the same name by Hoover, has a plot which is noticeably similar to the storyline of Hannah’s 2011 novel Night Road.

However, it is done fairly well (in both cases), so I’ll allow a little slack. I suppose there are only so many storylines for tragic love stories, so even if this movie has more than a few similarities, it does tell its variation of the story well, so that’s all we can ask. (Personally, I’d like to see a film version of Night Road as well, but for now this is as close as I’m likely to get.)

Maika Monroe plays Kenna, a woman who returns to her Oregon hometown after spending seven years in jail for vehicular manslaughter, due to an under-the-influence automobile crash which killed her fiancé Jeff (Rudy Pankow).

She was pregnant at the time of the crash and had given birth in prison, with the baby immediately taken from her and put in the custody of Jeff’s parents (Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford.) Therefore she has returned not just to make amends, but to try to get a relationship with her daughter.

When in town, she meets Jeff’s best friend named Ledger (Ledger???) played by Tyriq Withers. He doesn’t realize who she is, but they have an immediate connection. And it turns out that he is like a surrogate father to the little girl, so suddenly he is stuck in between the woman he kind of likes and the parents of his best friend, who are like parents to him.

(For the record, the only differences in Night Road are that the girl killed her lover’s twin sister, not her actual lover, and that he took custody of the daughter together with her parents. And the relationship she tried to start [back] up was with the ex. Oh, and also the story took place in Washington state, not Oregon.)

Like I said, not the most original story ever, but what Reminders of Him lacks in uniqueness it more than makes up for in simple sincerity. This film believes in the story it is telling and it tells it with passion and verve.

Interestingly, the two leads are probably best known for their work in horror – Monroe for Daddy Longlegs and The Guest and Withers for the reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer and Him. However, they have a nice, relaxed connection in these romantic roles. And it’s always fun to see Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) and Bradley Whitford (The West Wing), who make the most of their roles as the parents of the dead man who are raising their granddaughter.

Other interesting characters are played by Jennifer Robertson (Schitt’s Creek) as Kenna’s new landlord who hands out kittens to her new tenants, singer Lainey Wilson as a coworker of Kenna’s and Monika Myers, who steals nearly every scene she is in as Kenna’s neighbor with Down’s syndrome.

I have to say that I tend to be very picky about weepy films. If the movie seems to be pushing too many buttons to make me cry, they tend to have the opposite effect. But I have to admit, Reminders of Him actually kind of worked on me. And, yeah, I may have teared up a tiny bit at the end.

Now, I suppose, I should give one of Hoover’s books a chance, most likely this one.

Jay S. Jacobs

Copyright ©2026 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: March 13, 2026.