How Movieguide® Solves IT ENDS WITH US Problem

Published: August 22, 2024

How Movieguide® Solves IT ENDS WITH US Problem

By Movieguide® Staff

Though fans of Colleen Hoover’s book IT ENDS WITH US may be aware of the sensitive content, many moviegoers were not. Consequently, they voiced outrage that the movie did not begin with a discretion warning about the thematic issues presented on screen.

“By glossing over its domestic violence content in the film’s marketing, and by not providing any content warnings prior to the start of the film, IT ENDS WITH US ultimately fails the survivors it is supposed to advocate for,” Bridgette Stumpf writes for The Hollywood Reporter.

Stumpf continues:

By glossing over its domestic violence content in the film’s marketing, and by not providing any content warnings prior to the start of the film, IT ENDS WITH US ultimately fails the survivors it is supposed to advocate for.

As the executive director of Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC), an organization which advocates to ensure individuals impacted by crime are afforded meaningful rights and access to supportive services to mitigate the negative effects of trauma post-victimization, our staff supports survivors of domestic violence every day. What’s important to these survivors is feeling safe, and seeing a world where accountability exists and matters. More than 83 percent of the people we help are women or identify as female, and an alarming 79 percent of NVRDC cases involve sexual assault and/or intimate partner violence.

Movieguide® is well aware that IT ENDS WITH US, as well as multiple movies and television programs, contain content that alarms discerning viewers. Fans concerned about triggering content are easily obliged by our review system that contains a full content breakdown including worldview, violence, sexual content, language, nudity, drug use/abuse, smoking and other miscellaneous immorality.

The very first line in our review states, “IT ENDS WITH US is a romantic drama about domestic abuse. Blake Lively stars as Lily Bloom, the female owner of a new flower shop in Boston. Lily begins a romantic relationship with a handsome neurosurgeon named Ryle. Their growing relationship faces a big challenge, however, when Lily encounters her high school boyfriend running a restaurant in Boston. It’s been 10 years since she saw him. Eventually, the neurosurgeon gets jealous and suspicious. This leads to trouble.”

Furthermore, the content breakdown allows moviegoers to read about what they will see on screen and determine if they find it acceptable for viewing:

Sadly, it’s not just IT ENDS WITH US that surprises savvy moviegoers with excessive content. Parents, especially, are wary of the kind of media their families consume. They know they do not want to shell out significant dollars at the theater for tickets and snacks only to find the movie they thought was acceptable viewing was far from it.

Even studios previously known for relatively safe content, such as Disney and Pixar, have started promoting unbiblical and immoral values in their movies.

With Movieguide®’s trademarked content breakdown, we allow viewers to “know before they go” so they won’t be shocked by excessive content.

Additionally, our review process can assure moviegoers that their dollars are going to films that support their personal values.

The moral of the story is simple: Do not rely on studios to tell you when you need to have media discretion. Instead, look to Movieguide® to vet the content for you.