Love, loss, regret, and second chances make up the core of Reminders of Him, a 2026 romantic drama based on Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel.
The film opens by introducing Kenna Rowan (Longlegs’ Maika Monroe) returning to her hometown, Laramie, after serving five years of a seven-year sentence for vehicle manslaughter. She pleaded guilty to killing her boyfriend, Scotty (Rudy Pankow from Outer Banks), in an accident where she was driving under the influence.
Kenna has three main goals. First, she needs to find a place to live, which she does. Two, Kenna needs a job, and three, she wants to see her five-year-old daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), whom she hasn’t seen since giving birth to her in prison. Scotty’s parents, Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford), are raising her daughter, making the third goal the most challenging. Scotty’s parents still blame Kenna for their son’s death and, understandably, want nothing to do with her.
After a long and unsuccessful day of job searching, Kenna visits the old bookstore Scotty used to love only to discover it’s been turned into a bar. She meets the bartender and owner, and they are immediately attracted to each other. (Ledger seems to be drawn to her sadness.) When Kenna hears a co-worker call Ledger (Tyriq Withers, Him) by his name, she realizes he was Scotty’s best friend, whom she never met because he was away playing ball in the NFL. Kenna makes an abrupt exit, a little freaked out by the experience.
To make things even more complicated, Ledger lives across from Scotty’s parents and has become a surrogate father figure to Diem.
Kenna finally gathers the courage to visit Diem after securing a job at the local supermarket. She attempts to surprise Scotty’s parents with a visit, but Ledger sees her as she is about to knock on the door and quickly realizes who she is. Determined to protect Diem, Grace, and Patrick, Ledger forces Kenna into his truck and drives her away.
And that action begins the struggle between Ledger and Kenna to deal with their strong attraction while being on opposite sides about Kenna inserting herself into Diem’s life. Ledger finds himself torn between wanting to help Kenna and remaining loyal to Scotty’s parents.
Contrived and predictable, Reminders of Him is a shallow and sappy romantic drama that would make a better fit on the Hallmark Channel than on the big screen. It’s a dull and lifeless love story.
As Kenna, Maika Monroe delivers a soulless and awkward performance that almost gives the impression that she’s unsure of how to play the character. At times, Monroe seems excessively cold and robotic, while in other scenes, she plays the character as if she were a bratty teenager.
Tyriq Withers is miscast as Ledger, with every scene feeling forced and unnatural. Even the scenes with him doting over Diem ring false. Worse, Monroe and Withers have no chemistry together, so Kenna and Ledger’s relationship falls flat.
Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford deliver the only worthwhile performances in the film as Grace and Patrick. Their subtle and controlled outrage and disgust when they learn that Kenna is back in town seem genuine and sincere. Unfortunately, their performances are not enough to make the film worth watching.
Directed by Vanessa Caswill, Reminders of Him stumbles in its attempt at romance and leaves little reason for audiences to care about the characters at the heart of the story.
GRADE: D
Rating: PG-13 for sexual content, drug content, brief partial nudity, some violent content, and strong language
Release Date: March 13, 2026
Runtime: 1 hour 54 minutes
Studio: Universal Pictures
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