'It Ends with Us,' schmaltzy but good

Justin Baldoni and Blake Lively in Sony Pictures' It Ends With Us

It's bombed with the critics yet soars with the public which means it's a hit!

Yessiree moviegoers, over at Rotten Tomatoes the critics give it a 57% favorability rating and the people, 92% which is why I went to see it since the public is always right. (I'm guessing it didn't have enough biting edge for the know-it-alls. My friend, Chris, couldn't stand it:  "Too syrupy," she said.)

Remember Bohemian Rhapsody? (60%; 85%) and although I'd label It Ends With Us a chick flick, when I went to see it, half the audience was male (maybe there to catch the sex scenes which are many and good! Thank you, Justin Baldoni, the director, for omitting the obligatory breasts [I'm not sure that was his decision] which all look alike anyway and do nothing for the presupposed mostly females watching).

When I discovered Baldoni was also one of the leads, I wondered how successful he'd be at either job, and he excels.

In this film, he's a playboy neurosurgeon pursuing an unhitched damsel (Blake Lively) who also is chased by an old flame (Brandon Sklenar), and gurrls...how divine to be chased by two men the likes of them! A fairy tale come true! (This ignores the chief message of the movie - how to escape domestic violence - but still, these menfolk are all right to look at.)

He's too good to be true, right? (Which one? Gurls: Whenever you feel like this, trust your instincts and run fast because your instincts are always right.)

I read that the Academy Awards will bestow its first Oscar for casting next April, and surely, the End's Kristy Carlson will be nominated for her finding the incredible Isabela Ferrer and Alex Neustaedter who play the high schoolers, pheneomenal in their likenesses to Lively and Baldoni, and they deliver admirable performances, to boot!

But the absolute best acting is by Jenny Slate who plays the best friend and sister. (She reminded me of Gilda Radner. Maybe Slate will be nominated for Best Supporting Actress in End.) Her husband here is Hasan Minhaj, an unbelievable (another "too good to be true") partner with his mouth constantly open wide.

The music by Duncan Blickenstaff and Rob Simonsen is good; nothing to write home about, but costumer Eric Daman forgot to change the styles from teen years to today.

Hats off to Lively's hair stylists Anne Carroll and Robert Lugo.

The film is a bit slow taking off, but hold on, it's coming as the plot thickens and becomes more intense. Other "hot button" issues (sexism, abortion, parental relationships) are included in subtle ways for the most part, but don't let them deter you from going if you favor skipping depressing, in-your-face, realistic movies like I do.  We get enough of real life in real life.

Please, let me escape for a while!

There's a lot of online controversy about a filming conflict between Lively and Baldoni which builds traffic, doncha know? 

The movie is based on the novel by the same name by Colleen Hoover who serves as one of seven (! I lost count) executive producers, her books, not my genre to read (sniff), but in the theatre restroom, I heard a woman say the movie was better than the book.

Now, when was the last time you heard that?

And that's all she wrote and all you need to know to enjoy a couple of hours of escape, worth your money and time.

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