‘Reminders for Him’ review: Meka Monroe stars in a Colleen Hoover film adaptation that works hard to make you cry (and likely make you cringe)

It is not surprising that advertisements for Reminder of it He reminds us that the film comes “from the author of the best-selling book And it ends with us and We are sorry for you.” That author is Colleen Hoover, who is quickly becoming as much a cinematic brand as a literary one, the romantic-drama equivalent of John Grisham in legal thrillers and Stephen King in horror films. At this point, the audience knows what to expect: very beautiful people dealing with painful situations in attractive places, often finding love along the way.

That’s certainly the case with this latest screen adaptation that shamelessly manipulates you emotionally and does so relentlessly until you’re finally exhausted. It seems fitting that the film’s main scene includes Coldplay’s “Yellow,” the kind of chart-topping pop song that you make fun of even as you eventually find yourself singing along.

Reminders for youlike much of Hoover’s work, does not traffic in accuracy. When main character Kenna is released from prison and returns to her picturesque Wyoming hometown of Laramie, she ends up living in the run-down Paradise Apartments, you know, the irony. Her new owner forces her to adopt a kitten, whose cuteness and sad meows on the big screen are the equivalent of a heart-wrenching pet adoption commercial.

Kenna plays Maika Monroe, who seems comfortable not falling into the usual horror movie scream queen persona, and delivers a powerful performance that has us rooting for her character at every turn. Kenna pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter in the death of her boyfriend Scotty (Rudy Pankow, External banks) After she was involved in an accident in which she was driving under the influence of alcohol. She returns to Laramie to see her 5-year-old daughter, Dame (Zoe Kosovich), whom she gave birth to in prison and never knew. The little girl has been raised by Scottie’s loving parents Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford), who blame Kenna for their son’s death and refuse to allow her anything to do with their little girl.

The romantic element comes in the form of the charismatic and kind-hearted Ledger (Tyric Weathers, for him, I know What I did last summer), whom Kenna meets when she stops by his bar after a long day of job hunting. The two form an instant connection, but what Kenna doesn’t know is that Ledger was Scotty’s best friend and now lives across the street from Diem, with whom he has formed a loving bond. Despite the fact that Scottie was engaged to be married to Kenna, she never met Ledger because he was far from starting his NFL career. It’s just one of many contrived plot elements that you just have to deal with.

Another thing is that she and Ledger, who hires her to work weekends at his bar, form a friendship and then a romantic relationship that he desperately tries to hide from Scotty’s parents. The ruse leads to several tense sequences, such as Ledger frantically heading out of Grace and Dim before they enter the supermarket where Kenna works and Kenna’s escape from the bar in the pouring rain when Grace and Patrick stop unexpectedly.

It seems a little silly when you stop to think about it, but director Vanessa Caswell and co-screenwriters Lauren Levine and Hoover (the latter, who also produced and wrote one of its first-time screen adaptations) manage to effectively sweep you up in the melodramatic proceedings. However, you have to overlook some annoying elements like Kina’s voiceover at the beginning of the film which sets up the story and then promptly disappears. As does her extensive diary, in which she writes letters to the dead Scottie, one of which becomes a major plot element.

It helps that all the characters are sympathetic and engagingly played, with Monroe wonderful as the beleaguered Kenna, desperate to meet her daughter, and the charismatic Withers making the most of his character’s anguish over his fractured loyalties. Graham and Whitford bring a quiet emotional authenticity to their roles, with the former particularly moving in the final act.

Also good is country singer Lenny Wilson (Yellowstone) as Kina’s supportive co-worker and child actress Kosovic, whose cuteness is off the charts. Seventeen-year-old Monica Myers makes a strong impression as Lady Diana, Kenna’s neighbor with Down syndrome, whose unfiltered comments as comic relief prove to be more than just a little awkward. While it’s fitting for a movie you often find yourself exhausted before furtively wiping your eyes during its warm ending.