After its release, The Life List quickly became a nationwide hit, proving itself to be the perfect romantic comedy for audiences everywhere.

The Life List, directed by Adams Brooks, was released on Netflix in March 2025. The main characters in the film are Sophia Carson, who plays Alex, a young woman determined to complete a childhood bucket list to receive her mother’s inheritance, and Kyle Allen, who plays Brad, a charming and compassionate lawyer responsible for ensuring Alex completes all the tasks.

The Life List is about a girl who, following her mother’s passing, is forced to overcome grief and complete a list of goals she wrote at age fourteen to receive her mother’s inheritance.  Along the way, she faces many challenges, uncovering family secrets, finding romance, and rediscovering herself. The list of goals must be completed within a year to receive her mother’s inheritance, which includes a range of goals, from becoming a teacher to playing basketball with a Knicks player to falling in love.    

The film explores themes of grief, reconnecting with one’s younger self, and self-discovery.  It shows how Alex overcomes the passing of her mother, the fear that she grows from, and eventually finds her true self, finding true love along the way.  

Immediately following the film’s release in April 2025, it topped the English-language movie chart for three weeks and got 29.2 million views alone just in its first week.  This film has received recognition, including a 2025 Imagen Award nomination for best special or television movie and a win for best actress (drama) for Sophia Carson.    

Throughout the film, Alex and Brad go from professional acquaintances to being each other’s true love, with several rough patches along the way. It turns out to be the perfect happy ending to this great romantic comedy. 

I personally enjoyed this film and found that it was one of the better rom-coms that I have seen, mainly because of its plot, which shows her completing each one of the different tasks throughout the film, how it causes her to grow as a person, and everything she does along the way. This made the film engaging, and I was able to connect with the character throughout it.  

This movie is a great rom-com and a film unlike any other.  Its story, characters, and humor are what make it stand out among other romantic comedies.