What’s on your bucket list? Go skydiving? Learn Italian? Maybe you just want to get a dog. The Life List, available to watch on Netflix now, will give you just the push you need. The new movie stars Sofia Carson (Purple Hearts, Carry-On) as Alex Rose, a young woman stuck at a crossroads in life who sets out to complete a “life list” she wrote as a teenager.
Based on the book of the same name by Lori Nelson Spielman, The Life List is part of Netflix’s partnership with producer Liza Chasin (The Lost City, Stillwater) and her 3dot Productions. Written and directed by Adam Brooks (Definitely, Maybe; Imposters), The Life List is one part romantic comedy, one part family drama, and all about the journey of finding yourself — and seeing what happens next. Keep reading for everything you need to know about the emotional film, first-look pictures of the buzzy cast, and watch the trailer above.
Sofia Carson as Alex in The Life List.
When Alex Rose’s mother — played by TV’s favorite mom, Connie Britton — sends her on a quest to complete her childhood bucket list, she sets off on a journey in which she uncovers family secrets, finds romance, and learns more about her true self with the support of her brothers (Dario Ladani Sanchez, Federico Rodriguez), her lawyer turned ally (Kyle Allen), and a cadre of friends.
The list takes her to uncharted territory — open mic night at a comedy club, leading a classroom in a women’s shelter, a glamorous charity event, playing one-on-one basketball — and then back to where she started: her childhood home. “Alex Rose is me, is you, is all of us,” Carson tells Tudum. “At times, alive but not living. She reconnects us to the dreamer we left behind, fearlessly holding her hand as she bravely marches through life.”
Set against the backdrop of New York City, the film presents a fresh take on the beloved genre that’s at turns unexpected, moving, and relatable. “Alex Rose awakens us to life again,” Carson tells Tudum. “The Life List is a portrait of life. Moving through loss with tears in her eyes, a smile on her face, wit on her lips, as she learns to live again.”
The Life List is both an emotional coming-of-age story and an irresistible romance with its authentic and layered characters and universal premise — we all have dreams we’ve back-burnered. For Allen, who plays Alex’s love interest Brad, the story immediately resonated — “When I got the script, I cried, and that’s always a good sign,” Allen told Netflix. “The movie’s like, ‘I’m going to talk about life in direct accordance with death, and I’m going to walk people through it in a really beautiful and constructive way that leaves everyone happier and more fulfilled for what’s happened.’ ”
Sofia Carson as Alex and Kyle Allen as Brad in The Life List.
At the heart of the story is the bond between Alex and her mother, Elizabeth, who sets Alex off on a course to take charge of her life and rediscover herself. “It is a very accessible, entertaining way to get to take stock of your own life and what your dreams and goals and desires are,” Britton tells Tudum. “Those are pretty heady ideas, and you don’t want to be hit over the head with them. That’s what good storytelling is: You are able to immerse [yourselves] in the lives of these great characters and follow their journeys and also [reflect on] your own.”
Brooks, for whom The Life List was a decade in the making, worked hard to draw out the film’s lived-in quality. “It’s a story of reinvention I hope resonates with people — about those crucial moments when you have to take measure of who you are and ask yourself if you’re truly living an authentic life,” the veteran writer-director tells Tudum.
Producer Liza Chasin, who has worked with Brooks for three decades, knew how impactful The Life List would be from the very start. The morning after reading the script, “I called Adam and said, ‘I’m telling you right now, I’m making this movie. I don’t know what the hurdles are going to be, but I love this movie,’ ” the producer tells Tudum. “We were unstoppable because we all felt this was a deep, emotional, and relatable story — and we hope when people watch The Life List that they will feel the same way.”
Connie Britton as Elizabeth in The Life List.
Marianne Rendón as Zoe, Chelsea Frei as Megan, and Sofia Carson as Alex in The Life List.
The film’s concept got Chasin and Brooks thinking about their equivalent dreams long before they made the movie. “It did make me think back to a list I found right before we made the movie and what those kinds of lists mean,” Chasin says. “It’s not about checking the thing off the list. It’s the journey you took to check it off.” For Brooks, he’s been most excited to see other people apply the film’s device to their own life: “What’s been great is when people see the film, especially those around the same age as Alex, they start asking themselves the same questions Alex does.”
Alex’s life list helped Carson gain insight into her character, while providing an important reminder: “The concept is so powerful in its utter simplicity. Because, at some point in our lives, we all were that little Alex Rose, with our wild hopes and dreams that felt boundless,” the actor says. “It’s such a beautiful and simple reminder to go back in time, or to go back into our hearts, and remember, what is it that we really want out of life?”
The Life List took Britton on a walk down memory lane of the things she’d manifested as a young girl. “When I was a kid, probably younger than 13, I would go to bed every night and pray to see Stevie Wonder in concert,” she says. “When you become an adult, you can still look back at those things [you dreamed of] and they have a different meaning that is still very specific to who you are. I can look at that and realize: It was about music and experience and personhood and who Stevie is specifically.”
Allen had an even more relatable take on the concept: “I thought about how I wanted to skip to the end and live as if I had completed a life list.” Thankfully for us, we’re brought along on Alex’s journey.
Sebastian De Souza as Garrett and Sofia Carson as Alex in The Life List.
Brooks found inspiration for his movie in Spielman’s book — over 10 years ago. Although his spark with the material was immediate and he had a clear vision of how he’d adapt the bestseller, it took a little longer to actually get the movie made. “I wrote two drafts and was incredibly happy with the result, but it didn’t move forward at that time. I kept tracking it, and about four years later I found out the book rights had become available,” he says.
Chasin and Brooks have worked together often since they first met on the 1995 rom-com French Kiss. “When we met 30-plus years ago, I instantly felt a kinship with him professionally,” Chasin reflects. “He sent me the script for The Life List in 2020, and I read it that night. I couldn’t believe there was this gem that I hadn’t known about for so many years. I deeply connected to it as a daughter whose mother has passed away and as a mother with two daughters.” Like Brooks, Chasin knew immediately how much she wanted to make this movie. “I called Adam the next morning and said, ‘I am telling you right now, I’m making this movie. I don’t know what the hurdles are going to be, but I love this movie.’ ”
Over the course of the adaptation process, Brooks remained true to the story, while also putting his own spin on it. “The script is faithful to the book, but there’s a lot of reinvention,” he says. The time it took to make The Life List ended up being a blessing in disguise. “In a way, it was good for me and for the movie — since I first wrote it I’d seen my kids going through their own trials in their 20s, and lost both my parents and my younger brother. The themes of the movie had deepened for me.”
Chasin also felt gratified by the length of the process. “Sometimes you persevere and the film never happens or you’re standing on set unhappy, asking yourself, ‘Why did I fight that fight?’ ” the producer says. “Not on this one. We were unstoppable because we knew there was a deep, emotional, real movie here. We all felt, ‘Oh, we’re making this movie.’ ”
The List List is out on Netflix now!
