Another Taylor Jenkins Reid book adaptation (and there will be more to come)! I enjoyed this book but it definitely isn’t one of my favorites of hers which put less pressure on the movie in my opinion because I wasn’t so attached to the book specifics. However, this adaptation still managed to fall way short of the source material.

While there is still plot in this story, much of it involves an internal debate for the main character, Emma. She marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse, but he is then presumed dead in a helicopter accident. Years later, she reconnects with an old friend, Sam, and they fall in love. Shortly after getting engaged to Sam, Jesse is found alive and comes home, expecting to get back to his life with Emma. None of that is spoilers, it’s all the set up for the action of the story which really hinges on Emma having to figure out which man she wants to be with. 

While that premise seems interesting for a movie, most of what follows in the book is Emma reminiscing about her relationship with both men, dealing with her grief after losing Jesse, and reconciling the person she was before she lost Jesse with the person she is now. All of that inner conflict and self-reflection is compelling to read, but much harder to depict on screen. The movie felt like it rushed through the motions of the plot very quickly without stopping to dive deeper into the emotion of the situation. I didn’t feel connected to any of the characters or really care about them at all. In 2023, when most movies these days are over 3 hours, this is a rare moment when I actually thought an under 2 hour film should be longer.

I also thought Taylor Jenkins Reid’s writing in the book kept it perfectly uncertain who Emma would choose in the end. I went back and forth in my own opinion and guesses multiple times while reading. But the movie makes it a little too obvious from the beginning to even keep you interested in staying until the end. One True Loves wasn’t terrible by any means but, in my opinion, there are a lot better ways you could spend your time than by watching this.

2023 Count: 6 seasons, 24 movies, 1 special