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Since the massive success of 2024's "It Ends with Us" (which earned $351 million at the worldwide box office) Hollywood has been in the Colleen Hoover business. Subsequent adaptations "Regretting You" and "Reminders of Him" have failed to match the success of the 2024 movie that started it all (but didn't do that bad at the worldwide box office, both coming in around $90 million). Perhaps the latest Hoover adaptation, "Verity," will be the next big one.

The first three Hoover movies all dabbled in the same brand of melodrama, while "Verity" is a different spin on what has been seen from the Hoover Factory. The new film, directed by Michael Showalter, captures Hoover's sense of heightened drama and tortured romances but with an airport thriller sheen. It's a page-turning book that can easily be picked up at any Hudson News outlet while waiting for a flight, and the ludicrous thriller was destined to become a movie once audiences began responding to Hoover's work.

As a pulpy read, "Verity" was disposably entertaining. It's the kind of book that's hard to put down, even when it feels like consuming a massive pile of junk food. Somehow, the thrills got lost in translation because Showalter's film is a plodding bore with only a few individual moments that pop off the screen.

Dakota Johnson stars as Lowen Ashleigh, a published author in desperate search for an audience. As the movie opens, Lowen is reading excerpts from her new book at a bookstore to a single-digit audience. When she leaves, she witnesses a tragic accident on the street but thankfully Jeremy (Josh Hartnett) is there to help her in such a time of shock. Lowen and Jeremy try to digest what they just witnessed but both need to get to a meeting.

Imagine Lowen's surprise to see Jeremy when she walks into the publisher's office with her agent. Lowen is being offered a gig ghostwriting popular author Verity Crawford's (Anne Hathaway) next three books, and Jeremy is there to tell Lowen that  Verity personally requested she be the one to get the job (Surprise! Jeremy is Verity's husband). Verity was in a car accident and she can't speak or walk, and Jeremy sells Lowen on the job by telling her Verity requested someone with a similar voice and writing style. The position requires Lowen to move into their Vermont home; in desperate need of money, Lowen hesitantly accepts the job.

Once Lowen is at Verity's home, she begins digging into her work and office to try and obtain a sense of her process as a writer. She finds a first-person manuscript Verity wrote and becomes instantly addicted to the twisted words she put to page. Given Verity's condition, Hathaway spends most of the movie silent but gets some moments to chew on through flashbacks or as Lowen is reading the manuscript. There's a disappointing sense that Hathaway could have really run with the role of Verity, but she's limited by Hoover's writing of the character.

It's always important to note that good trash is an important part of any moviegoer's diet. Not every movie has to be seen for Oscar prospects or to find the next great masterpiece. Sometimes, it's good to go to the movies and laugh with friends about how ludicrous a movie can be. "Verity" had the blueprint to be that kind of movie, but it just meanders about until a rushed final act where the entire story comes into focus. Those expecting something like "The Housemaid" - good trash! - may leave disappointed.

Johnson and Hartnett are serviceable, if not memorable, but "Verity" will be remembered as the final film in the year of Hathaway. Between "Mother Mary," "The Devil Wears Prada 2," "The Odyssey" and "The End of Oak Street," the Oscar-winning actress has had one of the busiest years of her career. "Verity" feels like a wasted opportunity to end such a run of movies on.

The film's back-and-forth structure begins to feel repetitive and monotonous, but Showalter is occasionally able to capture a jolt of energy that is strangely missing from the movie. Even so, book clubs will flock to "Verity" and the Hoover train will continue to chug along.