Grab your friends, put on floral dresses, make yourself comfortable with a delicious cocktail and sit back: the most erotic film of the year about domestic violence is just around the corner!
Uh… what? If that was your general reaction, you’re not alone. For weeks, the strange marketing for It Ends With Us, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s bestselling novel, has been causing a stir and a great deal of excitement on the Internet.
If you want to avoid spoilers, please click away, because I’m going to provide a little background for anyone unfamiliar with Hoover’s work. It Ends With Us is about a florist named Lily Blossom Bloom who seems to be obsessed with patio furniture made of “marine polymer.” (This comes up a lot in the book; don’t ask why.) Bloom, dealing with the death of her abusive father, falls in love with a sexy neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid. He is abusive, and she eventually leaves him, though they end up sharing the upbringing of the children.
The book and film’s depictions of domestic violence have received mixed reviews. Some critics have accused Hoover, whose books are generally marketed as romance novels but often feature violence, of fetishizing toxic relationships. That criticism was amplified last year when Hoover announced plans — later shelved — to release a coloring book based on It Ends With Us.
Although CoHo, as she is known, has her haters, she has also been praised for the way she handles difficult subject matter, speaking about how It Ends With Us was influenced by her experiences growing up in an abusive household. The film, which stars Blake Lively and grossed almost $200 million (£155 million) at the box office, has been praised by some domestic violence experts for tackling the subject with “sensitivity and depth”.
This is important because Hoover has enormous reach: She is a publishing phenomenon whose works outsold the Bible in 2022. Love her or hate her, there is no denying that Hoover’s work is hugely influential. Her books are not my cup of tea, but I think it’s great that she has sparked so many conversations about the different forms of abuse.
What’s not so great, however, is the film’s marketing, which is at best superficial and at worst completely inappropriate – and that’s in addition to the rumors of a falling out between Lively and Justin Baldoni, the film’s director and co-lead actor.
One of the most criticized promotional items is a cute TikTok on It Ends With Us’ official page in which Lively says, “Grab your friends, put on your floral dress and go out and see it.” It feels firstly like a desperate attempt to recreate the Barbie cultural moment, and secondly, completely inappropriate for a film about abuse. Lively’s sarcastic response to a sincere question about how fans could talk to her about the film’s themes (“Like sharing location? I could just tell you your location…”) didn’t win her any fans either.
Then there’s the fact that Lively seems to be using It Ends With Us to promote her beverage companies. At the post-premiere party, cocktails featuring her products – and her husband Ryan Reynolds’ gin – were served with themed names like Ryle You Wait. Yes, that’s an alcoholic drink named after the violent antagonist in the film – an interesting choice considering the links between alcohol and domestic violence.
Also, to the casual observer, it looks like Lively used the film’s release to launch her hair care line. It was reported that the launch was not supposed to coincide with the film – but that’s not the case, is it? Not a good picture.
Marketing a film about domestic violence is bound to be challenging; some missteps are understandable. The problem here is that Lively seems more interested in marketing her brands than anything else.
Cynics might suggest that you don’t sell hair products and drinks by talking about domestic violence; that would be really depressing. A much better idea would be to focus on floral dresses and girls’ nights out! Judging by the reactions, however, that strategy isn’t working. I have a feeling that all of this will end with the hasty hiring of a crisis management firm.
