Picture: Netflix
Based on the novel of the same name from Lori Nelson Spielman, The Life List is the latest Netflix project from the platform’s frequent performer Sofia Carson, who has now starred in 5 Netflix Original Films over the last 5 years.
Leaving her former teen Disney villain past behind, Carson starred in the dance competition dramedy Feel The Beat in 2020, voiced a charismatic and brave pony in My Little Pony: A New Generation in 2021, acted and sang in the military-centric drama Purple Hearts in 2022, & put in the crosshairs of a domestic terrorist in the airport crime thriller Carry-On released only a few months ago.
This time around, Carson dives back into a more serious drama of sorts as Alex Rose, a young woman perceived by others as being lost following a big change from her more impassioned career as a teacher to working for her mother’s cosmetics company. Adding to her listlessness, Alex discovers that her mother’s cancer has returned, and she won’t be going through treatment.
With a closer & stronger bond to her mother than her other siblings, she takes her eventual passing very hard. However, that bond and maternal guidance would continue as Alex is given a rather unique stipulation to her inheritance: instead of staying on and running her mother’s company, she is let go of her position and sent on a quest to get her life back on track.
Alex must follow and complete her “Life List” that she created when she was 13 years old. With tasks ranging from trying stand-up comedy to finding true love, she must complete everything on the list over the next year in order to receive her final messages from her mother and the real inheritance left in the will.
THE LIFE LIST. (L to R) Sofia Carson as Alex and Kyle Allen as Brad in The Life List. Cr. Nicole Rivelli/Netflix © 2024.
Alongside Carson, the cast has some familiar names: longtime TV icon Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights, Nashville, The West Wing”) as Alex’s mother Elizabeth, Kyle Allen (The Map of Tiny Perfect Things) as family lawyer Brad, Sebastian De Souza (Fair Play) as Alex’s co-worker turned romantic interest Garrett, & Jośe Zúñiga (Twilight, Griselda) as Alex’s father Samuel.
But, make no mistake, this is Sofia Carson’s movie for better or for worse. I have also seen every bit of Sofia Carson’s (live-action) Netflix career for better or for worse. It’s hard to put my finger on it exactly, but there is something either in her character/film choices or her particular skill set as an actress that largely seem at odds in the past few years.
When I reviewed Purple Hearts for this site years ago, I remarked that Carson lacked “emotional depth and bothers herself more with being angry & dour … than developing a range that would be warranted to handle the myriad of emotional fallouts …” With The Life List, I was hoping for a build on her Purple Hearts performance as it delves back into the same dramatic register mixed with complicated romance, especially after being pleased with her supporting role in last year’s crime thriller Carry-On.
However, her performance as Alex is simply more of the same with a script that, much like Purple Hearts, doesn’t do her a ton of favors with its inconsistent tone, forgettable supporting characters, & multiple cringey moments (I’m staring at you, Comedy Club open mic) that don’t suit her as an actress/singer or add anything to the film itself.
The story struggles to construct a base narrative for Alex; a character who, while possibly lost without passion for her current life choices, does not seem to have those passions front and center as the goal in which to get back … or at least not the ones centered around a man.
The “Life List” is a means to tell you who she is as a person and who she aspires to be; however, a lot of the list is meaningless and doesn’t seem to suit her personality. Learning a song on piano because her mom told her to, doing standup comedy when she is clearly not funny (or even that fun most of the time), getting a tattoo, learning to drive (she clearly didn’t do this much at all), & reading Moby Dick are just some of the examples of the nonsensical fluff that fills a movie that seems to overstay its welcome.
A journey of self-discovery turns mostly into a plodding & predictable tale of how she found love. Her teaching career is a laughable side project that gets barely any backstory as to why she changed professions in the first place or why it seemed to suit her even when she was a young teen. Her family issues are too large and counterproductive to one of the only things that seem to work in this movie: her relationship with her mother and the messages she leaves behind.
Picture: Netflix
The rare moments of watchability are those between Alex & her mother and Alex & Brad; moments of genuine reflection, life philosophy, & deeper human connection. The DVDs, no matter how silly or contrived, give the audience the sentiment and tear up scenes that this type of stories should crave. Connie Britton is a standout; no matter how much of the film goes astray from the relationship between Alex & her mother, she always brings it back – including the last DVD where “past” Alex walks in for possibly the best scene in the film. As for Alex & Brad, it’s a standard rocky start that thaws over time until it blooms, but it’s also the only time someone seems to be happy to be there and present in the film. While most things in this film ring so false, these relationships are the ones that make anything in the film feel grounded and enjoyable.
Overall, The Life List may satisfy fans of Sofia Carson’s past work, but the film’s drawn-out, contrived, & largely unearned conclusions shouldn’t work for more discerning romantic drama enthusiasts. My wish for more emotional complexity & likability from Carson, following the popularity of Purple Hearts, seemed too much to hope for, as she seems to have hit a ceiling as a dramatic lead.
Don’t let writer/director Adam Brooks’ past CV (Definitely, Maybe; Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason; Wimbledon) make you believe in an elevated romance here. Connie Britton & Kyle Allen try to make the over 2 hour runtime worthwhile, but extraneous subplots, forgettable supporting characters, & cringey moments of “humor” make this one a skip on the watchlist.
Watch The Life List If You Liked
- Endings
- Beginnings
- The Bucket List
- Purple Hearts
- Definitely, Maybe
- Feel The Beat
MVP of The Life List
Connie Britton as Alex’s mother Elizabeth
Picture: Netflix
Britton has proved time and time again over her career that she can hit the emotional home runs when it counts, especially in a more maternal role. Her performance as Alex’s mother Elizabeth is as close to something that works in the film and it could not have been easy. Seemingly working off of nothing but a camera, Britton still delivers enough dramatic punch and warmth to get the viewer to give in to the more loving & tender scenes in the film’s final moments.
I’m always game for a journey of self-discovery, but The Life List wastes most of its 2 hour runtime with joyless detours away from the mother-daughter relationship drama that could have worked on its own. Carson still hasn’t proved she can be the emotional focal point of a movie that works.
Rating: PG-13
