Netflix delivers a heartwarming story of grief, love and finding yourself in its new movie “The Life List.” While Netflix rom-coms have been known to follow the same stereotypical plots, “The Life List,” which was released on the platform on March 28, 2025, provides a sentimental new story that’s definitely worth watching.
The movie centers around Alex Rose (Sofia Carson) after her mother, Elizabeth (Connie Britton) tragically passes away. Dealing with the grief of losing her mom, Alex is hit with another shock when she learns she will not be receiving her inheritance at the same time as the rest of her siblings and will instead have to complete a series of tasks before New Year’s to receive anything at all.
These tasks are from a list Alex made when she was 13 years old called “The Life List.” They range from simple things like “Camp under a full moon” or “Get a tattoo” to more complicated, abstract ideas such as “Find true love” or “Make peace, not war, with dad.” The rest of the movie follows Alex as she goes on a mission to complete the list. And with each item she crosses off she gets a DVD containing a personal message recorded by her mom.
From beginning to end Elizabeth is a character that quite literally haunts the narrative. Meddling in her children’s lives from beyond the grave, she makes it very clear that “The Life List” is meant to help Alex live a more fulfilling life. Though we are never told exactly why, it is revealed early on that Alex was unfairly fired from her teaching position prior to the events of the movie. Vowing never to teach again, she took a job at her mother’s cosmetics company, moved in with her “safe” boyfriend Finn (Michael Rowland) and, according to Elizabeth, gave up on her dreams.
The goal of the list is to remind Alex not to give up on those aspirations and, even if it’s scary, to keep trying. It’s that idea that serves as the main theme of the film and I think is the first point of connection that the viewer can make between themselves and Alex. It’s completely human to be scared of what’s next or worried that you’ll never accomplish what you set out to do with your life. But just as Elizabeth reminds Alex to not give up, the film reminds everyone in the audience that they shouldn’t either.
Now of course this film isn’t just one long, heavy journey of self-discovery. It is a rom-com after all and romance is definitely what Alex finds in this movie. Along with Finn, who exits the film rather quickly after flashing Alex’s entire family and becoming more focused on his video game than helping her handle her mom’s death, Alex also starts a relationship with Garrett (Sebastian de Souza).
Garrett is the stereotypical guy in a rom-com that is perfect on paper, but you just know that he is never going to be the one for the main character. The British doctor who helps run a women’s shelter is nice and put together but as the movie progresses it becomes clear that he really only wants to be with Alex on his terms. The arc of his relationship with Alex was unfortunately very obvious. This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he did a great job at highlighting the positives of Alex’s actual love interest, but at some points his existence felt very predictable.
The true love interest of this film is Brad Ackerman (Kyle Allen), the executor of Elizabeth’s will and the guy that kind of becomes Alex’s confidant as she goes on this journey throughout the movie. For the entirety of the film the chemistry between Carson and Allen’s characters felt very real. He supported her through each task she had to do on the list and most of the time played a pivotal part in helping her achieve the goals she set for herself. Brad’s love for Alex and his investment in watching her become the best version of herself is something I think we should all aspire to find in our lifetime and made the movie all the more interesting.
But beneath the romance and the adventures Alex has as she completes items on her list, this story is about family. A big part of Alex’s journey is in how she tries to repair the relationship she has with her father and in some smaller way her brothers, though the latter does have more to do with problems they had with Elizabeth than anything actually involving Alex.
The complicated family dynamics presented in the movie are something that I think many people can relate to. Obviously not every family has gone through, or will ever go through, the same issues that Alex’s family does but the movie makes a powerful point on how no family is perfect but that doesn’t mean these problems can’t be fixed. There were multiple points in this film when I started to get emotional just watching these familial relationships heal. By the end of the movie, just be prepared to want to call your loved ones and remind them how much you care about them because that’s how I was feeling by the time the credits rolled.
Overall, this film is a feel-good story and one that I’ve definitely been needing. While a little bit formulaic and at times incredibly cringey — a short conversation about having only one “alpha male” in a relationship comes to mind — this movie highlights some important lessons in navigating life and accomplishing your goals. It may be cheesy, but I wouldn’t pass up watching “The Life List.”
