Netflix’s new romantic comedy,The Life List, made some significant changes to its source material.The Life Liststars Sofia Carsonand is based on the novel of the same name by Lori Nelson Spielman. The Netflix original film is charming and heartwarming, so it doesn’t come as a surprise that it has become a global hit. Despite its success,The Life Listhas had mixed reviewsdue to how it can at times be shallow.
The Life Listfollows Alex, a young woman whose life gets upended when her mother dies.Instead of inheriting Elizabeth’s cosmetic company like she thought she would, Alex is left with nothing except a life list she has to complete. Like many movies adapted from novels,The Life Listdoesn’t include everything that’s in the original story because some parts of the story might not translate well into a film. Nonetheless,The Life Listmaintains the emotions and romance that are featured in the novel.
8Elizabeth Isn’t Alive At The Beginning Of The Novel
Posthumous List Origins
Spielman’s novel begins with a drunk and distraught Alex at her mother’s funeral.The primary protagonist misses the funeral luncheon due to her inebriated state and doesn’t get to celebrate Elizabeth’s life with the rest of her family. There’s no part in the book where Alex’s mom is alive. She’s only present in her life through the memories that her daughter has of her.
While Elizabeth doesn’t get to be alive for long in the romantic comedy, the film gives audiences a glimpse of how close the mother and daughter duo were.
The movie, however, changes that part of the story. In the Netflix version ofThe Life List, Elizabeth is alive in the opening scenes of the movie. However, she dies shortly after her cancer returns.While Elizabeth doesn’t get to be alive for long in the romantic comedy, the film gives audiences a glimpse of how close the mother and daughter duo were.
7The Netflix Movie Changes Alex’s Name
Character Name Alteration
One of the biggest differences between Spielman’s novel and the movie adaptation involves Alex’s name.The film has the main character’s name as Alex Rose. In the novel, her name is Brett Bohlinger. Although the names aren’t the same,the Netflix filmdidn’t deviate too far from the source material. Just like Brett, Alex sounds more like a man’s name than a woman, which is something that’s a running joke in the book.
Alex’s name isn’t the only one that is different in the film.Her boyfriend is called Andrew in Spielman’s version and Alex’s brothers are named Jay and Joad, instead of Lucas and Julian.It’s common practice for characters’ names to be different in films or TV shows. So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that the same thing is true forThe Life List.
6Finn Has A Different Personality In The Film
Personality Shift for a Key Character
The Life Listnovel and film both have Alex in a serious relationship.However, her boyfriend is depicted differently in the Netflix movie. Finn is carefree, doesn’t have a lot going on in his life, and has the goal of developing a video game. Alex’s boyfriend in the novel is the complete opposite. In the book, her partner is ambitious, cold, and isn’t supportive of Alex’s decision to do everything her mother told her to.
Sofia Carson’s The Life List Would’ve Worked So Much Better If Netflix Made This Change
Much as I enjoyed watching Sofia Carson’s The Life List, Netflix could’ve made one crucial change that would’ve made the story much better.
Despite these differences, one thing remained the same in the Netflix adaptation, and that’s that Alex wasn’t really in love with her boyfriend.While she knew that Finn wasn’t the love of her life in the novel, she took some time to end things with him because of how manipulative he could be.In the film, Alex doesn’t take as long to leave her relationship.
5Alex’s Mom Left Her Letters In The Book
Absent Maternal Correspondence
The life list initially seemed like a terrible joke that Elizabeth had played on Alex, but her daughter came to appreciate it because every time she achieved a goal, she would get to read a letter Elizabeth left. The movie doesn’t necessarily change that part of the original story but modifies it.Instead of letters, Alex would get to watch a video recording of her mother when she ticked off a goal.
It makes sense that the film had video recordings of Elizabeth instead of letters because it gave Connie Britton more screen time.If the movie only had letters, then audiences would have seen very little of theNashvilleactor in Netflix’s version of Spielman’s novel. This would have been a shame because Britton is one of the highlights ofThe Life List.
4Some Of The Things On The Life List Were Excluded From The Movie
Omitted Life List Items
In both the book and movie, Alex’s mother left her the list of goals she had when she was younger but didn’t achieve.The purpose of the list was so that Alex could come out of her shell and grow in every part of her life. While some things on the list were kept in the movie, other tasks were added or left out. For instance, getting a tattoo wasn’t part of the life list in the book, nor was learning how to play Claire de Lune.
In fact, the movie leaves out some important goals that were in the movie.
When Alex wrote the life list as a teenager, one of her goals was to become a mother, which she does in the book but not in the film.She also wanted to own a horse and a dog. She did end up getting a dog and finding a safe place for Lulu the horse. Sincethe Netflix romantic comedyhas a different ending, it’s understandable that some things from the list had to be removed so that everything fit in with how Alex’s story concluded.
3Alex’s Relationship With Her Fathers Is Portrayed Differently In The Netflix Movie
Varied Paternal Dynamics
Another change that the Netflix movie makes to the book involves Alex’s relationship with her father. In the novel, Alex’s father isn’t alive.They had a difficult relationship when he was still a part of her life, and she mistakenly assumed that he was the one her mother wanted to forgive because of how he treated her when she was younger. When she finds out that he isn’t her real dad, she goes searching for Johnny Mann, her biological father.
The Netflix movie sees Alex and her father have a difficult relationship, but they work out their differences before the film concludes. Her biological dad doesn’t play a huge role in her in the movie. The film doesn’t include her half-sister, Zoe, whom Alex grew close to after she found her father.
2Alex & Garrett Are End Game In Lori Nelson Spielman’s Novel
Altered Romantic Conclusion
Alex always wanted to be a teacher from the time she was young,but she gave up her dream after she started working at her mother’s company. When Elizabeth died, Alex began teaching underprivileged children, which is how she met Dr. Garrett Taylor. Alex and Taylor didn’t meet until the end of Spielman’s book. They got to know each other through phone calls.
They begin dating shortly after, but their relationship doesn’t last.
In the Netflix movie, Garrett and Alex meet face-to-face at work.They begin dating shortly after, but their relationship doesn’t last. This is different from the book’s story because the two end up together after falling in love through their interactions.
1The Netflix Movie Changes The Novel’s Ending
Divergent Narrative Resolution
The biggest Netflix made to Spielman’s novel is how the movie ends. At the conclusion ofThe Life List, Alex ends up with Brad after completing every item on her list. But that’s not how things play out in the book. Alex and Brad didn’t have a romantic relationship even though they briefly had feelings for each other. In the book, Brad is devoted to his girlfriend and ultimately chooses to be with her instead of starting things with Alex. The two, however, remained good friends.
Similar to the movie, Alex achieved all her goals. The main difference between the two versions ofThe Life List’s conclusionis that Alex had a baby who she had adopted in the novel. She also married Dr. Taylor, built a shelter in honor of her daughter’s biological mother, and had a great relationship with one of her childhood friends. While the film and novel version ofThe Life Listend differently, they both have the protagonist living happily ever after.
The Life List
Cast
The Life List follows a young woman on a journey to complete a childhood bucket list, uncovering family secrets and rekindling self-discovery and romance. Released in 2025, the film chronicles her transformative quest initiated by her mother’s request.
