The Life List Movie Changed a Key Detail From the Book—Here’s if Alex Ends Up With the Same Character
It’s one of Netflix’s latest tearjerker movies that includes lots of life lessons along the way. The Life List stars Sofia Carson as Alex Rose, who is determined to complete a list of tasks that she wrote at 13 years old to get her mother’s inheritance.
Alex was content with her job and her boyfriend Finn (Michael Rowland) and was happy settling down. After her mom (Connie Britton) dies of terminal cancer, Alex is surprised that she didn’t receive the CEO title of her company she left behind. Instead, her mother made her a series of DVDs that would accompany her to complete her Life List so that she could fully experience life. The catch is: that she only has until New Year’s to do everything on the list. Whenever she completed something, their family lawyer Brad (Kyle Allen), would give her a new DVD to watch. The one tricky thing that Alex tries to tick, is falling in love. After realizing that life with Finn isn’t fulfilling, she tries to start a fling with Garrett, but still, he doesn’t check all the boxes.
Alex embarks on several journeys while completing the Life List like playing basketball with New York Knicks player Patrick Ewing and going to Vermont to meet her biological father. Along the way, she bonds with Brad, and the two share a passionately fun dance to The Ting Tings’ “That’s Not My Name.” With the deadline fast approaching, did she get everything she wanted?
Who does Alex end up with in The Life List?
Alex technically doesn’t get the inheritance because she didn’t truly fall in love. However, her mom expected this of her and told her via her last DVD that she would be inheriting the house, including maintenance fees and taxes to keep it in tip-top shape. All her mom wanted was for her to know that life is messy, beautiful, and complicated. It’s not supposed to go how you expect it. Even her mom didn’t know how true love is supposed to be like, but that it’s worth fighting for. That’s when Alex has the realization that the love of her life is within reach. She drives over to Brad’s house with urgency enough to text while driving and crashes into his car.
Brad storms onto the street wondering what is going on and Alex professes her love to him, noting that he checks off all four of the questions on the true love test. “Is he kind? Can I tell him everything in my heart? Does he help me become the best version of myself? Can you imagine him as the father of your children?” Though she didn’t reveal the last question to Brad, it was a resounding yes to all four questions. The two kiss in the middle of a tree-lit New York City street and they celebrate New Year’s at the Rose’s childhood home with her whole family.
Kyle Allen told Netflix’s Tudum that the car crash scene was a pivotal moment overall.“The scene where Alex crashes the car, I love just being with those characters and having that gratifying moment between them, that coming togetherness of them. “After following these characters for so long, to have that moment where everything comes together and clicks, it’s very settling, like, ‘Phew, I needed that.’”
For those who are itching to read the book, the main character Brett (who Alex is based on) does in fact end up with Brad. In an interview with fellow Megan Waite Clayman at Penguin, author Lori Nelson Spellman revealed that Brad was gay in the first draft, but decided to make them fall in love in the final draft. “In the original draft, Brad was gay, she recalled. “Brett didn’t realize it until she showed up on his doorstep New Year’s Eve. In a bold attempt at bravery, she confessed her love to him. He hugged her, in that brotherly way she mistakenly thought might be something more.”
