Now I will be the first to admit that I am not the desired demographic for this. I haven't read the book and moreover, had never heard of the author prior to sitting down with what Blake Lively did next.
I have visions of scores and scores of disappointed female bookworms having their imaginations ruined, the visions of this prior to seeing it with their own eyes will never make up for the power of your own imagination and this is as true here as anywhere. I would love to see Iain M Banks' Culture universe turned into a tv series, but I already know I wouldn't love it when it arrived, because no matter how good it is, nothing will come close to my own personal vision.
And on reflection and with suitable dollops of hindsight, this is just the kind of thing I would normally (and do normally) avoid like the plague. There is a thriving cinematic industry that relies on romance for its existence. It knows it audience and this leans, nudges and then barges into that audience with its A-list influence, making no apologies for it.
So if we can overlook the fact that the characters here are much older than the books' equivalents, there is quite a sweet tale here. Sure, it's a bit twee for some but Lively carries the whole thing with ease. The story is suitably dreamlike (heterosexual female fantasy escapism) with love at the front and centre with a decision that our lead has to make.
Lively looks stunning of course, so for all of the blokes dragged to this against their will, there is some silent, furtive payoff, albeit fleeting.
In all, not as teeth-clenchingly dreadful as I was expecting, largely thanks to Lively, but I cannot ever imagine a time when I would sit through it again in its entirety.
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