Reminders of Him is a 2026 American romance movie directed by Vanessa Caswill. The screenplay was written by Colleen Hoover and Lauren Levine, based on Hoover’s 2022 novel. The film features Maika Monroe, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lainey Wilson (in her first film role), Nicholas Duvernay, Lauren Graham, and Bradley Whitford.

Six years after being released from prison for causing the death of her boyfriend, Scotty, through a car accident, Kenna tries to reconnect with her young daughter, who was born during her time in prison. She faces challenges from most people, except Ledger, the owner of a bar who was Scotty’s best friend. Ledger and Kenna work together to heal old hurts so they can move forward.

The movie premiered in Los Angeles on March 9, 2026, and was released in the United States by Universal Pictures on March 13, 2026. Critics gave the film mixed reviews.

Plot

Kenna Rowan admits she is responsible for causing the death of her boyfriend, Scotty Landry, in a car accident. Six years later, she is released from prison and returns to her hometown. Kenna hopes to meet her five-year-old daughter, Diem, whom she had during her time in prison and who has been raised by Scotty's parents, Grace and Patrick.

Kenna moves into a place where people with low incomes live. Her landlord asks her to adopt a kitten. She also becomes friends with Lady Diana, a young neighbor who has Down Syndrome and lives with her father, who is in jail. After struggling to find work, Kenna visits a bookstore that has been turned into a bar.

Kenna talks with the owner, but she refuses to go on a date with him. She leaves quickly when she realizes he is Ledger Ward, Scotty's best friend who played in the NFL. Ledger still lives near Grace and Patrick and acts as a family member to Diem. Grace avoids answering Diem's questions about why her mother is not around.

With help from Anna, a kind worker at a grocery store, Kenna finds a job as a bagger. She visits the Landry house, but Ledger, who is leaving, recognizes her as Diem's mother. He, along with Grace and Patrick, still blame Kenna for Scotty's death and do not allow her to see her daughter.

While Grace and Diem are shopping, they almost go to Kenna's store, but Ledger stops them and keeps Diem from seeing Kenna. After talking with a friend named Roman, Ledger visits Kenna, and they share a kiss. However, Kenna pushes him away, worried it might cause more problems.

After a romantic date, Ledger asks Kenna to explain what happened the night Scotty died. Kenna reads from her diary. She and Scotty were both under the influence of drugs when the accident occurred. Kenna was able to escape the car, but Scotty's arm had no blood flow. When she could not find a pulse, she believed he was dead.

Kenna tried to get help but was not assisted. She was later arrested by police when she was unconscious. Feeling guilty about Scotty's death and not knowing he was still alive, Kenna admitted guilt. Later, she learned she was pregnant. She also explains that she was unable to hold Diem after giving birth because Diem was born too early.

On Mother's Day, Diem wants to give flowers to her mother. Ledger brings a bouquet to Kenna. They go on another date, but Patrick sees them and attacks Ledger, thinking he betrayed the family. Ledger visits Kenna's apartment and finds her packing to leave. He takes her diary and gives it to Grace and Patrick, asking them to read the part about Scotty's death.

After reading, Grace changes her mind. She returns the diary to Kenna and tells her that Scotty would have wanted her to meet their daughter. Ledger sees Kenna arriving at Grace and Patrick's home. They tell him Kenna is coming for dinner and invite Ledger to join.

Kenna nervously asks Ledger to go with her to meet Diem. At first, she introduces herself as Ledger's friend, but later tells Diem she is her mother during a game. The family reconciles and enjoys dinner, with Diem falling asleep on Kenna.

Later, Ledger drives Kenna and Diem to the site of the car crash. They rebuild a memorial for Scotty, which Kenna had removed earlier because Scotty did not like memorials. Kenna tells Diem that restoring the memorial will make Grace happy.

Cast

• Maika Monroe as Kenna Rowan, a former prisoner who spent seven years in jail because of a car crash she was involved in
• Tyriq Withers as Ledger Ward, a former NFL player and owner of a local bar
• Rudy Pankow as Scotty Landry, Kenna's boyfriend who died in a car crash she was involved in
• Lainey Wilson as Amy Matthews, Kenna's friend and coworker
• Nicholas Duvernay as Roman, Ledger's coworker and a former alcoholic
• Lauren Graham as Grace Landry, Scotty's mother and Diem's grandmother
• Bradley Whitford as Patrick Landry, Scotty's father and Diem's grandfather
• Jennifer Robertson as Ruth Clayton, Kenna's landlord
• Zoe Kosovic as Diem Landry, Kenna and Scotty's daughter
• Monika Myers as Lady Diana, Kenna's neighbor who has Down syndrome
• Hilary Jardine as Mary Anne Walker, Ledger's coworker
• Sara Mattsson as the lawyer who worked for the prosecution during Kenna's trial
• Rick Koy as Kenna's lawyer who defended her during her trial
• Gery Schubert as the judge who led Kenna's trial
• Daniel Vasquez as a man who gave Kenna a legal order to stay away from her
• Anne Hawthorne as Kenna's mother who is not close to her and has not cared for her properly

Production

In October 2024, Universal Pictures announced that a movie based on Colleen Hoover's book Reminders of Him was being made. Hoover and Lauren Levine wrote the script for the film. They also helped produce the movie with Gina Matthews. In December of the same year, Vanessa Caswill was named the director. In March 2025, Maika Monroe was added to the cast. In April 2025, Tyriq Withers, Rudy Pankow, Lauren Graham, Nicholas Duvernay, Bradley Whitford, and Lainey Wilson joined the cast.

Main filming for the movie started in Calgary on April 16, 2025, and ended on June 12, 2025.

Tom Howe created the music for the film.

Release

The movie Reminders of Him had its premiere in Los Angeles on March 9, 2026, and was released in the United States on March 13, 2026. It was originally planned to be released on February 13, 2026, and February 6, 2026.

Reception

In the United States and Canada, the movie Reminders of Him was released at the same time as Undertone. It was expected to earn $10–15 million from 3,400 theaters during its opening weekend. The film earned $8 million on its first day, with $1.9 million coming from previews on Thursday.

On the review website Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of 111 critics gave positive reviews. The site’s summary states: "Adapted with careful handling and thoughtful acting, Reminders of Him does not create strong emotions to be considered a high-quality melodrama but includes some respectful moments of grace." Metacritic, which uses a scoring system that considers different factors, gave the film a score of 49 out of 100, based on 29 critics. This score means the reviews were "mixed or average." Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on a scale from A+ to F. Meanwhile, 66% of those surveyed by PostTrak said they would definitely recommend the film.

Eileen Jones of Jacobin wrote that the film "has only vague, overly emotional fantasies that feel like soap operas."