It Ends with Us movie review

MOVIE TITLE: It Ends with Us

This dramatic romance opens in theaters on August 9, 2024.

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 2 hours 10 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

The story is adapted from the popular New York Times best seller Colleen Hoover novel. It’s about Lily, who overcomes a traumatic childhood to embark on a new life. A chance meeting with a neurosurgeon sparks a connection but Lily begins to see sides of him that remind her of her parents’ relationship.

The film was directed by Justin Baldoni who also stars in it. Writing credits go to Colleen Hoover, of course, and Christy Hall.

For what it’s worth, I haven’t read the book, so I can’t tell you how close or far it is from the source material, but I’ve heard it’s a very good book-to-movie adaptation from those who love the book. If you’ve read it, please comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

THINGS I LIKED:

Blake Lively is gorgeous and can act. What’s not to love? In the book, Lily’s character is only 23 and Ryle is 30, but in the movie, they’re about 10 years older. When fans of the book complained about the age difference, Colleen Hoover explained that she was correcting an error in her own book. She had been contracted to write college-age characters, saying she “didn’t know that neurosurgeons went to school for 50 years”! Of course, that was her joke, but she really did think she messed up. Blake also served as one of the film’s producers.
Jenny Slate is always such a fun, quirky character, whether she’s in a live action movie or animation. She always brings a fun spark to any role.
Other standout cast members include Brandon Sklenar, Kevin McKidd, Hasan Minhag, and Justin Baldoni, of course.
Gorgeous flower shop!
Lovely musical score by Duncan Blickenstaff and Rob Simonsen.
The costume design by Eric Daman is elegant and even stunning at times.
I’ve heard that readers of the book have been very pleased with how close to the source material the movie is.
I must say, I did like the ending. I’ve heard the book doesn’t end on such a positive note.

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

The entire time I was watching this, I wondered what Ryan Reynolds thought about watching his wife make out with another man. That being said, she’s had to watch her share of other women making out with her husband.
Alright girls, when you see a guy violently kick a chair, that’s your first red flag. No one is perfect but watch for those red flags.
Here’s another warning for young women: Have some patience. Within minutes of meeting each other and after talking about the emotional damage their previous relationships had, they lean in for an intimate moment. A phone call stopped it from going any farther. Lesson: If you move that fast in a relationship without really knowing someone, the chances are very high it’s not going to end well.
It’s very slow-moving. The movie is way too long to say what it needs to say.
The title makes the movie’s end extremely predictable.

TIPS FOR PARENTS:

Kids will be completely bored.
Alcohol consumption
Pre-marital “relations” are seen
Talk of a child and father who died.
We see some passionate moments with skin but it doesn’t go into rated R territory
I was surprised to see 10 people listed as stuntmen and women. This definitely isn’t an action movie, but there were a few scenes where we see some violence.

THEMES:

Abusive, toxic relationships
Domestic violence
Courage
The beauty of flowers
Past loves
Past traumas
Victims and survivors
Repeating or ending bad relationship patterns

FUNNY LINES:
“This is a real Ghostbusters situation.” – Allysa (Jenny Slate)

“I like you.” – Ryle (Justin Baldoni) “What are you, five?” – Lily (Blake Lively)

INTERESTING LINES:

“All humans make mistakes.”
“There is no such thing as bad people. We’re all just people who sometimes do bad things. It stops here.” Lily (Blake Lively)