PG-13 | 1h 54m | Romantic Drama | 2026
Everything about the romantic drama “Reminders of Him” is easily predictable, absurdly straightforward—and quite watchable. It has no problem with pushing every sentimental button there is, while telling a simple story about broken people trying to find love and lost family connections.
Critics hate it at 56 percent, and audiences love it at 90 percent, on the Rotten Tomatoes site. That’s usually a good enough reason for me to go see a movie.
As generic as it is, it’s also guaranteed that any time you see an incoming plot twist, telegraphing itself like a slow-motion haymaker, you’ll say “So what?” You’ll lean in, stick out your chin, and cheerfully allow yourself to get knocked out.
Knocked out by whom? For the men: former pro kiteboarder turned actress, Maika Monroe. For the ladies: former Florida State wide receiver turned actor, Tyriq Withers. All involved will enjoy the sublime vistas of Laramie, Wyoming. The film was actually shot in Alberta, Canada, to better showcase all that Rocky Mountain glory.
Supporting roles range from the adorable Zoe Kosovik to the charming Monika Meyers, a Canadian model and disability advocate. This is Meyers’s first film. Genre fans will chuckle, swoon, and get all choked up.
‘Reminders of Him’
Seeking redemption, Kenna Rowan (Monroe) returns home after a 7-year stint in the slammer for the car crash that killed her boyfriend Scotty (Rudy Pankow).
While incarcerated, she gave birth to a daughter named Diem (Zoe Kosovic), who’s been raised by Scotty’s parents, Grace (Lauren Graham) and Patrick (Bradley Whitford).
After hanging up his NFL pads, Scotty’s childhood best friend Ledger (Withers) moved across the street from Grace and Patrick to help raise Diem. And you can see the ending coming from here. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
Everyone’s obviously still furious with Kenna—they think she left Scotty in the car to die while saving herself—but the hunky former Denver Bronco is the first to melt, offering her a job in his bookstore-turned-bar. Why does he soften? Probably because of Maika Monroe’s nonsynthetic, foot-long eyelashes. Not to mention skimpy tank tops and too-short cutoff jeans.
Keeping Love a Secret
How long can Kenna and Ledger hide their burgeoning romance from Grace and Patrick so that Kenna can finally meet her daughter? The script takes every opportunity to reveal Kenna’s heart of gold, as well as the truth about that fatal, fateful night.
Monroe’s feisty presence as Kenna is more yearning than combative, her pride mitigated by both her lost-child grief and jail time. She at first tries to resist any contact with Ledger, and vice versa, but naturally this won’t stand.
Not to mention the obvious—it’s the quintessential knight-in-shining-armor rescue story. Is a flat-broke, single mom with no career prospects really going to say no to a millionaire former NFL hunk who’s building his huge dream house in the pines with a fabulous view of the Rockies? She’s going to turn down the guy who is the de facto gatekeeper to her child, and has already basically signed on as her kid’s dad, without her even asking? Pffft. Talk about overkill. On top of all that—as we’ve all learned from Cuba Gooding’s character Rod Tidwell in “Jerry Maguire”—dating a single mom without a commitment is a form of shoplifting.
I’m kind of surprised that “Reminders of Him” didn’t have Paul Simon’s classic song in the soundtrack: “No, I would not give you false hope, on this strange and mournful day, but the mother and child reunion, is only a motion away.”
Sydney Sweeney’s Polar Opposite
The powerful emotions of two good-looking athletic people and the gorgeous mountain scenery sell well, of course. Considering her socioeconomic status, maybe Kenna’s ever-present skimpy wardrobe is realistically plausible. For movie purposes, it appears to be an attempt to paint her as some sort of fallen woman to disguise the fact that it’s just constant sensual bludgeoning for purposes of “sex sells.”
Then again, this is shaping up to be Monroe’s dramatic stock-in-trade character (outside of being the horror genre’s newly crowned scream queen). In her recently released film, “In Cold Light,” her character had also just gotten out of jail, and in the 2018 underrated teen dramedy “Hot Summer Nights,” she wore those self-same teeny-tiny cutoff jeans.
Monroe’s brand, so far, is diametrically opposed to Sydney Sweeney’s. Sweeney’s archetype starts off as a soft, malleable sweetie who turns steely-eyed and in control by the movie’s end. Monroe’s is the hard-bitten tough girl from across the tracks, who’s got a hidden devotion to truthfulness and holds out resolutely for true love.
“Reminders of Him” is lightweight and not a movie that leaves you with issues to ponder—moral dissonances are quickly resolved. Like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Pretty Woman” before it, it slickly contrives to bathe the audience in emotional power chords of sweet romance and reunion resolution. Not to mention long, long eyelashes and Rocky Mountain Majesty.
‘Reminders of Him’
Director: Vanessa Caswill
Starring: Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lauren Graham, Bradley Whitford
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Running Time: 1 hour, 54 minutes
Release Date: March 13, 2026
Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 5
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