CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses domestic violence.
As everyone talking about the film It Ends With Us is hooked on the behind-the-scenes feud between Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni, one comedian has brought attention to the misdirected marketing of the film’s heavy topics in a hilarious TikTok series.
Comedian and writer Orli Matlow has amassed millions of views on her social media, after she posted a series of videos that played out a simple hypothetical: what if other movies were marketed like It Ends With Us?
ICYMI, the marketing strategy for It Ends With Us has been criticised by readers of the (already controversial) Colleen Hoover book it is based on, for not addressing the topic of domestic violence at the story’s core.
Instead, the film seems to be advertised as a lighter “Who will she choose?” type of romantic drama, where one of the lead characters — Ryle, played by director Baldoni — has an anger issue.
Some viewers have gone so far as to say that the movie actually “glamorises” domestic abuse, which was a criticism the book also received.
Amidst the sea of folks criticising/defending It Ends With Us, and taking sides in the behind-the-scenes beef, Orli Matlow has highlighted the film’s misleading marketing in the funniest way possible.
In a TikTok that has more than two million views, Matlow envisaged a world where the 1993 World War II drama Schindler’s List was marketed the same distorted way as It Ends With Us.
@hiremeimfunny Replying to @🫶🏼 #itendswithus #itendswithusmovie #blakelively #filmtok ♬ original sound – Orli Matlow
“He’s making a list and checking it twice! Grab your red coats and come see my new movie, Schindler’s List, starring a hunk with a very particular set of skills, Liam Neeson!” Matlow quipped, in an upbeat and positive voice.
As anyone who has seen Steven Spielberg‘s Oscar-winning film knows, the black-and-white World War II film is anything but upbeat and positive.
In the comments on Matlow’s video, her viewers pointed out that the advertising for It Ends With Us gave them an entirely inaccurate understanding of the film’s content.
“I didn’t know the plot til Justin Baldoni started speaking. I legit thought it was a rom-com,” wrote one person.
After garnering more than 300K likes on TikTok alone, the writer and comedian applied the same hypothetical to other dark movies including The Human Centipede, The Passion Of The Christ, and Saving Private Ryan.
@hiremeimfunny Replying to @suzanne aka rivulets #itendswithus #itendswithusmovie ♬ 99 Luftballons – Nena
@hiremeimfunny Replying to @Robyn0 #itendswithus #itendswithusmovie ♬ Mean (Taylor's Version) – Taylor Swift
@hiremeimfunny Replying to @m@dd0 adams #itendswithus #blakelively #colleenhoover #filmtok ♬ original sound – Orli Matlow
On top of that, the comedian includes in her satirical movie ads a variety of different product tie-ins for these films, an additional jab at Lively’s beauty-brand tie-ins.
Matlow’s series of videos humorously and effectively highlighted the serious issue that people have with the way that It Ends With Us has marketed itself.
‘Cos like, could you imagine if you tuned in to watch any of those movies expecting something lighthearted, only to be hit with highly graphic content? Speaking from experience, it ain’t fun. (A friend told me to watch Saving Private Ryan because I liked Matt Damon, and I was not forewarned about the opening scene.)
And that was just gory imagery. When you consider the additional traumas that could be triggered if an abuse survivor watched this story about domestic violence without warning, you kinda realise why we can’t glamorise or trivialise this shit.
Lively gives “out of touch” response to DV question
The film’s mixed focus on the serious issue of domestic violence is suspected by fans to be one of the reasons Lively and Baldoni are locked in a PR war.
Baldoni has spoken out in red-carpet and promotional events about wanting to make sure that victims of DV are inspired by the film to take action. On the other hand, Lively has copped flack online for apparently using the film to promote her new beauty brand.
Lively also came under fire when an answer to a question about the film’s dark themes was slammed as “out of touch” by folks online.
When asked in an interview what viewers who relate to the DV experiences of her character could do to get help from Lively, the Gossip Girl actress gave a response that people found was too jovial for the topic’s serious nature.
“Maybe asking for, like, my address, or my phone number. Or, like, location share?! I could just location-share you and then we could…” Lively said before trailing off.
The odd quip was slammed by viewers online, with one writing: “Her initial response to the first question is so out of touch.”
Though neither Baldoni nor Lively have directly addressed or explained the reason for their feud, the It Ends With Us director has hired a top crisis PR manager in response to the allegations being thrown against him.
To their credit, Lively did say in an interview that we’re “not supposed to be talking” about the beef between her and the film’s director.
Unfortunately, whatever we are supposed to be talking about hasn’t been made clear by anyone in the cast or marketing team.
Help is available.
- If you require immediate assistance, please call 000.
- If you’d like to speak to someone about domestic violence, please call the 1800 Respect hotline on 1800 737 732 or chat online.
- Under 25? You can reach Kids Helpline at 1800 55 1800 or chat online.
[Image: TikTok/It Ends With Us/Orli Matlow]
The post This TikToker Perfectly Summed Up Why The ‘It Ends With Us’ Marketing Is So Misleading appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
