It Ends With Us is a Hallmark movie if made by David Lynch
I know what you’re thinking…why is the Average Dude (emphasis on the DUDE) going to see a very non-dude flick like It Ends With Us? Is there a personal reason that our Dude chose to review this movie? Well, yes and no. Mrs. Average Dude had no real desire to see the big release this week – Alien: Romulus. And she has been out of town on business lo this last week. She might have preferred to stay home and put her feet up instead of watch me watch a movie and shove corn into my facehole.
So, because she’s my queen and I missed her, I took her to see the movie she wanted to see. There’s your personal reason.
I’d rather re-watch the LOTR trilogy
And you’d be correct in noting that It Ends With Us is not a movie I would typically watch, either in a theater or even for free sitting in my mancave. There are roughly twenty movies on my ‘need to watch’ list that I just don’t have time to get to. And if I ever got through all of those and the ‘B’ list shows I missed, there’s still the annual watch list.
All of those I would watch before It Ends With Us. This is not a knock on Blake Lively or Hallmark movies or movies that tell sensitive stories. I’m just looking for something transportive to my escapism. I’m not looking to be transported into someone else’s misery, a misery that could be happening next door.
Now, if my neighbor were Blake Lively and she was judo chopping aliens or evil spies, I’m down for that. Just like every average dude, I think.
Having said all that, I didn’t hate It Ends With Us. That’s about the best I can say. It was leaps and bounds more watchable than Borderlands, even though it was roughly the same level of unbelievable. And, as always, I’m bringing the receipts.
Different fantasies for different folks, I guess
It Ends With Us is the Lifetime channel-esque story of Lily Blossum Bloom, a young woman leaving her upscale suburban home to make her way in the big city of Boston. She is branching out, her dreams are germinating. Armed with determination, a plucky attitude and confidence in her amazing floral designs, Lily begins her new life and escapes the hidden tragedies of her past.
Four minutes longer than her husband’s movie next door
For the next 2 hrs and 11 minutes, the story of Lily Bloom unfolds before us. Like an onion, the layers of an idylic life are slowly peeled away to reveal the raw, tortured heart that carries a secret burden. And just like an onion, It Ends WIth Us might make more tender souls weep. Not the Average Dude, of course.
It’s a choice
And its not that I’m heartless. Not at all. Hell, I can’t even think about Marley and Me or Homeward Bound without a touch of the misties. I’m not a robot. It’s just that I look at It Ends With Us and I see a story that has so very little to do with reality. Its a fantasy life made for those of us that prefer other escapes than the dreams of capes, aliens or robots.
No traffic, either
Lily Bloom seems to live in a corner of Boston that has no garbage, poverty or homeless. And no street crime. No gangs. No thugs. Just like a Hallmark movie. A nice fantasy. Not reality. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a stylishly dressed young lady walking down the street alone carrying a paper bag of groceries with a loaf of french bread sticking out the top. Mostly, it’s five plastic bags looped on one hand, the weight dragging their shoulder nearly to the ground. That’s reality.
Well…ALMOST none…
I find myself wondering if those who enjoyed It Ends With Us daydream about living in that world…as if it really existed. I can tell you that I spend no time wondering what my life would be like if I could lift Mjolnir.*
But that’s fine. To each their own. I can appreciate It Ends With Us for delivering to it’s target audience pretty much what they came for. Was it uplifting? Not particularly. Was it hopeful? I suppose. Was it an epic battle of good vs evil? No. Was it an epic battle for survival? A little. In the end, the Average Dude can recognize it for what it is…a big screen Hallmark movie if made by David Lynch. And if that’s your thing, you will like it. So for you, I’m giving It Ends With Us a 3.5 out of 5. If it’s not your thing, I’m giving it a 2. Best I can do.
*I do ponder occassionally, if I would be worthy.
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