Review: Reminders Of Him

Image courtesy of Universal Pictures.

Now that Nicholas Sparks adaptations have seemingly disappeared, author Colleen Hoover has become the new go-to for soapy melodramas that often feature tragedies and ill-fated romances. The adaptation of her "It Ends With Us" was a surprise hit - and so was all of the legal melodrama that followed - while her "Regretting You" was released last fall and an adaptation of "Verity" is heading to theaters later this year.

The latest in the Hoover book-to-movie pipeline is "Reminders of Him," a modestly engaging story about a woman with tragedy in her past who returns home to try to start over again. The woman's name is Kenna and she's portrayed by Maika Monroe, arguably the scream queen of the past decade whose work in "It Follows," "Watcher," and "Longlegs" was impressive. She does a solid job here, although her character's (well deserved) gloomy nature here isn't a far cry from the bleak horror material that she previously tackled.

Kenna is returning home after a seven-year prison stint and hopes to meet her daughter, Diem (Zoe), who is in the care of her grandparents (Lauren Graham and Bradley Whitford). That couple wants to keep the girl away from Kenna, whom they blame for the car crash that claimed the life of their son, Scotty (Rudy Pankow). Both Kenna and Scotty had been drinking at the time of the crash, but we later learn that the scenario wasn't as cut and dry as most people, other than Kenna, seem to think it is.

Kenna slinks back into town and manages to score a job at a grocery store, all the while living at a cheap motel. She happens to meet Ledger (Tyriq Withers), Scott's best friend who spends a lot of time with Diem and blames himself to an extent for not having been there for his friend. Ledger, who had been living in another city playing professional football before losing his career to an injury, is at first hostile to Kenna, although he warms to her and, as he learns more about the tragedy, begins to have feelings for her.

The trajectory of "Reminders of Him" is not likely to surprise you. It's pretty easy to see the plot developments from a mile away and it's filled with the type of behaviors and decisions that cause drama and only exist to further a film's melodramatic beats.

And yet, Monroe and Withers are convincing as the burgeoning couple that are faced with challenging odds - keeping their romance a secret, all the while trying to find a way for Kenna to convince her daughter's grandparents to let her into their lives. 

"Reminders of Him" is mostly an average film, but it's better than a lot of the Sparks adaptations that seemingly came out every other week some years ago. It's filled with gorgeous photography of the Wyoming locations in which it's set and it has two lead performances that are convincing. While I'm not sure that adds up to a recommendation on my part, there are numerous other films in this same sub-genre that are far less in quality.