By Alondra Tamayo, Sept. 3 2024
Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel “It Ends with Us” is now a major motion picture and has grossed $250 million, making it the highest-grossing romantic drama since 2018, according to a Boxofficepro.com article, despite being a disappointment for some.
While the novel was originally published in 2016, the film — directed by actor Justin Baldoni — debuted in August. The film is based on the character Lily Bloom, portrayed by Blake Lively, a young woman who faces the challenges of domestic abuse. Ryle, portrayed by Baldoni, is the man Lily falls in love with who eventually becomes not only her husband but also her abuser. Inspired by Hoover’s mother’s struggles with domestic violence, fans believe Hoover and others failed at successfully creating a movie discussing such a sensitive topic.
Fans had to wait eight years for the film’s release, and it was not worth it, according to Cal Poly Pomona students. The film’s marketing disappointed many because Lively and Hoover promoted it as a romance, rather than focusing on spreading awareness of the film’s main message: domestic violence.
“I was very disappointed when I saw interviews of Blake Lively and Colleen Hoover speaking on the film,” said psychology student Camille Martinez. “The film is supposed to be sensitive and empower women on leaving their abusers but instead was promoted as a rom-com.”
Many believe Lively and Hoover’s promotion of the film was lighthearted because they mentioned phrases like “grab your friends” and “wear your florals” during the film’s marketing campaign.
As a woman, Martinez believes Lively’s responses to interviews were ingenuine and sarcastic.
According to Page Six, during cast interviews, Lively was asked how she would respond to a person seeking her advice on the film’s theme. Sitting with an extended arm and both of her legs up on the couch, Lively’s response consisted of a broad answer of “location share?” followed by a laugh. Important questions regarding the message of the film were ignored by Lively and she focused more on the film’s creative choices, according to NBC News.
“It seemed like all Blake cared about was promoting her hairspray and wardrobe throughout the film,” said Martinez.
The main cast of the film was rumored to be in disagreement over creative differences, but according to a Rolling Stone article, the two lead cast members were amicable.
Though the rumored drama was shut down by other cast members, both Hoover and Lively approached the film’s marketing differently from Baldoni, which disappointed fans.
“As a woman, it’s embarrassing that a man did a better job of delivering the true message of the movie rather than a woman,” said math student Angelina Ngo. “Justin Baldoni demonstrated empowerment and not once tried to make the movie about himself but for all domestic abuse survivors and women who are currently facing it.”
Lively served as an executive producer on the film, in which she had the authority to take the film in the direction she wanted. Ngo believes the film would have excelled if Baldoni had taken more control.
The film also received backlash not only for its marketing but also the casting, specifically Lively. The drastic age difference between Lively and the character confused fans.
“Lily Bloom is supposed to be a young, beautiful 23-year-old girl, but Blake Lively looked much older than Lily’s actual age,” said Ngo. “I don’t feel like she presented Lily very well due to a lack of genuine emotion on such a sensitive topic.”
Liberal studies student Jocelyn Flores viewed the film and read the book.
“I did enjoy the movie, but I can also understand why many people didn’t,” said Flores.
According to Flores, the negativity influenced by the production came from Lively’s public appearances. She believes Lively placed more light on herself as the movie star rather than presenting domestic violence as the film’s main message.
Baldoni kept away from the cameras as much as he could unless it was to discuss the film.
“The movie itself did not disappoint me,” Flores said. “But from a woman’s point of view, it’s sad to see that Blake Lively ruined the chances of demonstrating woman empowerment.”
Feature image courtesy of Teresa Acosta
