Film Review: REMINDERS OF HIM (2026): Maika Monroe is Excellent in This Touching Colleen Hoover Film Adaptation
Reminders of Him Review
Reminders of Him (2026) Film Review, a movie directed by Vanessa Caswill, written by Lauren Levine and Colleen Hoover and starring Maika Monroe, Bradley Whitford, Tyriq Withers, Lauren Graham, Jennifer Robertson, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson, Nicholas Duvernay, Monika Myers, Zoe Kosovic, Hilary Jardine, Rick Koy, Skye MacDonald, Jillian Walchuck, Anne Hawthorne, Laird Reghenas, Susan Serrao and Bud Klasky.
Director Vanessa Caswill’s Reminders of Him is a beautifully rendered tale of love lost and found and is based on a popular Colleen Hoover book. It would appear to be a movie about a mother and a daughter separated by life’s unfair circumstances, but the film is a lot more than that thanks to its star, Maika Monroe, who brings complexity to a very relatable central character in the picture. This film becomes Kenna Rowan (Monroe)’s personal story of heartbreak, hope, salvation and triumph and is clearly a moving story despite any minor flaws in the characterizations within the film.
As the film opens, Kenna is coming out of jail after serving 7 years for supposedly being responsible for her boyfriend’s untimely death in a car accident in which Kenna was driving “under the influence.” Kenna moves into a small apartment to try to begin anew and meets a humorous young girl named Lady Diana (Monika Myers) who later becomes her best friend. Kenna wants to see her daughter, Diem (Zoe Kosovic), who was raised by her grandparents, Patrick and Grace (Bradley Whitford and Lauren Graham), while Kenna was in prison. Kenna is hired as a bag girl for a grocery store and meets a guy named Ledger Ward (Tyriq Withers) who is running a bar in town that was once a bookstore that Kenna used to go to with her now deceased lover.
Reminders of Him has a very big heart. Kenna befriends Ledger who has a very close bond with Diem. Ledger wants to protect Diem from Kenna because of the wishes of the grandparents. However as Ledger learns more about Kenna’s tragic situation, the pair form a bond that becomes deeply moving. They fall in love which complicates an already complex scenario and when the grandparents find out, it won’t be a pretty picture. Can Ledger convince them of Kenna’s good nature and make them see reason so that Kenna can finally meet her daughter face-to-face?
This movie does have many tear-jerking scenes and Monroe is the glue that holds it all together with her fiercely determined, it a bit non-confident, character. Viewers will root for Kenna as she ultimately gets a higher paying job as a dishwasher and proves she has the determination to succeed in her plans to be there for the daughter she thought she may lose or never know.
There are some really good performances here. Myers is charismatic as the witty friend and confidante of Kenna. Withers has a commanding screen presence that makes his character a pivotal one to the film’s story line. Monroe and Withers have some nice chemistry together which makes their relationship believable as things get so complicated that something will have to be done either for Kenna’s benefit or her loss. There is a cute performance by Kosovic as the daughter who many characters think will be challenged by her mother’s re-appearance in her life. Kosovic is quite endearing in her minimal, but valuable, screen time.
Maika Monroe is a treasure. She builds her character from the ground up and makes us believe in her strong will and determination. I enjoyed her character’s arc and watching her grow in order to make more out of herself than the odds would seem to initially allow. Monroe adds so much charisma to her dramatic turn and there are plenty of romantic moments sprinkled in as well between Withers and Monroe’s characters. This is a romance that will captivate viewers with its remarkable delicacy and precision.
Reminders of Him can become very sentimental towards the end. A scene between Lauren Graham’s character and Kenna particularly stands out as being quite touching as the grandmother finally comes around and may finally be able to make Kenna’s dream to see her daughter become a reality. Graham expresses deep emotions on-screen that will tug at the viewer’s heartstrings. Bradley Whitford, as the grandfather, also offers able support in his important role within the picture.
If Reminders of Him sometimes gets bogged down at times by unnecessary flashbacks, it is a powerful movie nonetheless. Maika Monroe has never been more vulnerable on-screen and gives her character’s backstory a dramatic purpose. It’s terrific watching an actress develop her character so efficiently and the movie is likely to appeal to Nicholas Sparks fans who will appreciate the movie’s sensitivity and romantic nature. You can’t go wrong watching a star like Maika Monroe who keeps the intensity of her character intact from beginning to end and ultimately makes Reminders of Him something very special to behold.
Rating: 7.5/10
Leave your thoughts on this Reminders of Him review and the film below in the comments section. Readers seeking more film reviews can visit our Movie Review Page, our Movie Review Twitter Page, and our Movie Review Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? eaders seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Apple News, Feedly, Twitter, Faceboo
Related Articles
