Movie · 2026 · Romance, Drama · 1h 54m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 0.9/10 (123K ratings)
Everyone deserves a second chance.
Overview
When Diem's custodial grandparents adamantly refuse Kenna's attempts to see her daughter, Kenna discovers unexpected compassion, and then something truer and deeper, with former NFL player and local bar owner Ledger. As their secret romance develops, so do the dangers for both of them, leading Kenna toward heartbreak and, ultimately, the hope for a second chance.
Ratings
Curator score: 0.9/10
IMDb: 6.3/10
Letterboxd: 2.51/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 56%
Metacritic: 49
TMDB: 7.7/10
Director
Vanessa Caswill
Production
Universal Pictures, Heartbones Entertainment, Little Engine Productions
Cast
Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Bradley Whitford, Lauren Graham, Zoe Kosovic, Nicholas Duvernay, Jennifer Robertson, Lainey Wilson, Monika Myers, Sindhyar Baloch, Jillian Walchuck, Hilary Jardine, Skye MacDonald, Laird Reghenas, Rick Koy, Susan Serrao, Anne Hawthorne, Kevin Corey
Curator Review
Verdict
A melodramatic, romance-forward tearjerker with a built-in fanbase, but the reception suggests uneven execution, clunky tonal choices, and more interest in emotional shortcuts than in fully earned drama. It may work for viewers who want a glossy, high-stakes second-chance romance and can overlook the sillier needle drops and soap-opera plotting.
Best for
fans of contemporary romance melodrama
viewers who like secret-relationship stakes
audiences seeking a cathartic second-chance story
readers of emotional, book-to-screen adaptations
Skip if
you want subtle writing and naturalistic dialogue
you are allergic to manipulative sentiment
you prefer romance without heavy tragedy and secrecy
you dislike glossy, overproduced melodrama
Overview
Reminders of Him is built to hit hard: grief, guilt, forbidden attraction, and the promise of redemption all arrive in a familiar, crowd-pleasing package. The setup has the right ingredients for a sweeping romance-drama, and the cast gives it enough charisma to keep the emotional machinery moving.
Worth noting
But the reaction around it points to a film that often feels more engineered than felt. The tone can wobble between sincere heartbreak and unintentionally goofy choices, and the soundtrack/needle-drop energy seems to undercut the drama as often as it supports it. That makes the movie easier to admire as a commercial romance product than to fully believe as a love story.
Bottom line
If you’re in the mood for a big, weepy, book-club-style romance with danger, longing, and a second chance at family, it may still deliver. If you want emotional realism or restraint, this is probably one to pass on.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Meg 🐠 (2.5★) · 6020 likes
If a man made me a playlist and the first two songs were Can’t Stop The Feeling and Dynamite i would kill myself in front of him
Juliaoplinger (1.5★) · 4287 likes
mind you it was half a gummy...
niamphh (2★) · 3476 likes
Spent the whole movie trying to work out that kids name
andrea (2★) · 2700 likes
my crush on tyriq withers has taken me places i wouldn’t even go with a gun (a colleen hoover movie)
carley :) (2★) · 2532 likes
some absolutely diabolical 'yellow' by coldplay needle drops in this