Anne Hathaway is one busy actor. In 2026 alone, Hathaway has been a presence at your local multiplex five times. Since April, she has appeared in the movies “Mother Mary,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” “The Odyssey,” “The End of Oak Street,” and now, “Verity” (Amazon/MGM). Based on the novel by inexplicably popular writer Colleen Hoover, “Verity” doesn’t do straight people any favors.
To put it simply, Lowen (Dakota Johnson, miscast again), a struggling writer with a few books to her name and no following, is hired to complete an unfinished book by bestselling author Verity (Hathaway). Why is Verity unable to finish her own book? She is supposedly paralyzed following an accident. Verity’s calamity occurred not long after she was involved in a canoeing accident in which one of her twin children drowned.
She is looked after by her nurse Anna (Irinia Dvorovenko), as well as her grieving husband Jeremy (a still-hot Josh Hartnett). Hartnett, who has been trying to mount a comeback for years (he’s at his best on “The Bear”), won’t get much traction with “Verity.” Not only is he unfaithful to Verity with Lowen, Jeremy also harbors an even darker secret.
More neurotic than erotic, and the farthest thing from being a thriller, “Verity” is a veritable cornucopia of corny clichés. Most offensive of all is the portrayal of writers. Unflattering, degrading, and silly, neither Johnson nor Hathway are the least bit convincing, whether writing (or ghostwriting) a novel, an autobiography, or a revelatory note hidden under floorboards. Seriously, ask any writer about this distasteful misrepresentation.
If you’re wondering why this unfortunate and insulting dumpster of drivel was directed by a straight man (Michael Showalter) with a screenplay by a straight man (Nick Antosca), it’s likely because women directors and screenwriters are too smart to come near this kind of junk. And, finally, to the suburban, “it’s wine-o’clock somewhere,” tradwives who made the trite Texas-bred Hoover a bestselling author, sober up. Read something good for a change, maybe something by Ann Patchett.
Rating: F
