The Life List (2025) is a heartwarming drama about self-discovery, love, and second chances. The story follows Alex, who has always been her mother Elizabeth’s favorite. But when Elizabeth’s time runs short, she leaves Alex with an extraordinary challenge—one designed to help her rediscover the person she once was.
Before passing away, Elizabeth creates a series of tasks for Alex to complete, each unlocking a DVD message where she can see and hear her mother again. With only a year to fulfill the entire list, Alex must navigate this emotional journey, knowing that completing it will not only change her life but also determine whether she receives her inheritance.
This article contains spoilers.
The Life List (2025) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
The film opens with Alexandra, aka Alex, at home with her boyfriend, Finn. There is nervousness as Alex goes home for her sister-in-law’s baby shower. Outside the house, Alex and Finn imitate the questions they’ll be asked, so they come up with a signal to rescue each other if someone needs to escape from the group. At home, Alex’s mother, Elizabeth, jokes with her son and daughter-in-law, saying Alex is her favorite child. At the party, Alex gets tired of all the questions. Thankfully, Alex’s friend Megan is there to keep Alex company.
Who is the family’s estate lawyer?
One of Alex’s brothers, Julian, is angry with Alex as she feeds his kids cake without asking him. Unable to bear the madness, Alex gives Finn a signal, so he enters Alex’s childhood bedroom, puts on music, gets naked, and dances, waiting for Alex to arrive. The kids are on a sugar high and enter Alex’s old bedroom and find a naked Finn. The younger kid, Oscar, thinks Finn’s willy is huge, which becomes a running joke in the family. Inside Elizabeth’s bedroom, Elizabeth and Alex cuddle and talk. Currently, Alex works for her mother’s company, but Elizabeth knows this is not Alex’s dream. Alex has always wanted to be a teacher, but she got fired unfairly once and is unwilling to go back to teaching.
Now, Alex says Finn has asked to move in with her, but Alex senses that nobody in the family likes Finn. As they share news, Elizabeth says her illness has come back, and this time, it (assuming tumor) cannot be removed. Time passes by, and the family attends Elizabeth’s funeral. Sometime after Elizabeth’s death, the family hopes Elizabeth has clearly divided things. Alex’s siblings think Alex is going to inherit Elizabeth’s company. At the lawyer’s office, the family meets their estate lawyer, a young man named Brad.
What must Alex do to get her inheritance?
The house should not be sold until a year, and Elizabeth’s kids can use the house, but they cannot stay there consecutively for more than 90 days. However, Julian realizes that maintaining the house will be expensive just because of the taxes, although Alex wants to keep the house forever. Thankfully, Elizabeth has made provisions for the house maintenance. The company will now be led by Catherine, and she has been asked to appoint a new Head of Marketing, effective immediately. Sadly, Alex is the head of marketing, and she is now angry with the way things have turned out. Unlike the others, Alex will get her inheritance much later, after she has met some terms and conditions.
This is to be given to Alex privately. The situation has made Alex angry, and she takes it out on Brad. To make Alex understand what is going on, Brad hands over a DVD containing a message from Elizabeth. Inside the envelope is also a list of to-do things that Alex had written when she was a teenager. In the DVD, Elizabeth has a message for Alex: She needs to tick every single thing off the list within a year to get her inheritance. The reason Elizabeth wants Alex to do this is because she has given up on dreams and passion and has forgotten who she really is. Every time Alex finishes one task, a DVD will be given. In February, Alex’s sister-in-law Zoe and Catherine encourage Alex to complete the list.
What is the first thing Alex checks off her list?
One of the things on the list is to find true love, and Zoe wonders if Finn is the one. Recalling a piece of advice given by Elizabeth, Zoe asks Alex to ask herself four questions to prove if the guy she likes is her true love. The four questions are: Is he kind? Can you tell him everything in your heart? Does he help you become the best version of yourself? Can you imagine him as the father of your children?
With these questions in mind, Alex gets home to find a stoned Finn testing out his new game to make sure it is suited for stoners as well. Now, Alex tells Finn about the list, and Finn encourages Alex to complete it. With that, Finn also assumes Alex will be running his video game company (which does not exist right now), and they’ll have kids without thinking about what Alex wants. This is the last straw, so Alex breaks up with Finn. The next day, Alex meets Brad to learn more about her mother. When Alex finds Nina’s (Brad’s girlfriend) photo, she is stunned. Especially because Brad is like a puppy sweet and Nina is hot.
Alex Begins Completing the List
The first thing Alex attempts to complete is to read Moby Dick by Herman Melville. This was supposed to be an easy task, but Alex struggles. The other thing on the list is for Alex to learn how to play Clair de Lune on the piano, as Elizabeth loved it. Becoming a great teacher is on the list as well, but currently, there aren’t any openings. As kids, Alex and Lucas wanted to do a stand-up routine, so Alex had added a stand-up show as one of the things to do. Now Alex is nervous, awaiting her turn to go on stage. Although it isn’t a great show, Alex manages to get a few laughs.
What does Alex learn about Elizabeth and her father?
Outside, Brad gives Alex a CD, and it seems that Alex accidentally invited Brad to the show. In this CD, Elizabeth asks Alex to do one thing every single day that scares her and makes her sick in the stomach. After watching this, Alex walks with Brad and asks him what would make him so afraid. So Brad says to walk into Old Man Sullivan’s office and demand to be made a full partner in the firm. What scares Alex or makes her sick is talking to her father, Samuel (who divorced Elizabeth a while after Alex was born). As they talk, Brad offers a teaching job to Alex at a women’s center where Brad does pro bono work. The place also has kids living there, and a position is open.
At the subway, Alex talks to a man named Garret about Moby Dick. At the women’s center, Alex has a challenging first day as she gets off on the wrong foot with a kid named Ezra, who lost his mother recently. The person in charge of the women’s center is Garret, the same man from the subway. Since Ezra is vulnerable, Garret says Ezra is like a cat, and Alex needs to wait for him to warm up to her. Later, during dinner with Samuel, Alex blames Samuel for not being emotionally available to her during her difficult times. When Samuel says Elizabeth is not a saint, Alex gets annoyed and accidentally guesses that Elizabeth has cheated on Samuel. The situation gets worse as Samuel reveals that Alex’s birth father is a musician named Johnny.
How does Alex meet Patrick Ewing?
So, Alex uses this as an excuse to explain her complicated relationship with Samuel. Now, Alex tells the family about it and talks about her plans to find her biological father. To help find Johnny, Alex takes Brad’s help. Finally, Alex completes reading the book and gets her next DVD. The next day, Alex visits her old piano teacher and asks to get some lessons. The teacher agrees only if Alex promises to perform in the June recital. At school, Alex tries to get close to Ezra by giving him a DVD of Hamlet and some books on art. When Alex leaves the school, Ezra gets out and throws the book on the road that is filled with puddles because of the rain. Angered, Alex visits Garret’s office, but he is busy and leaves for a party. Since Garret doesn’t have a date, he invites Alex to join him.
At the party, Alex sees a basketball player, Patrick Ewing, and immediately thinks of her list as she has to play with one of the Knicks. There, Alex bumps into Brad and Nina; it seems Nina is moving to New York. It looks like Garret and Nina dated briefly, but it didn’t go well. Finally, Alex manages to get Patrick Ewing’s email, and Garret realizes he likes Alex. After the party, Alex and Garret confess their feelings to one another and start dating. Soon, Alex introduces Garret to the family. It’s June, and Alex performs Clair de Lune at the recital. One of the things on the list is to help people and make a difference. So Alex does precisely that, and during that charity fair/event, Alex checks one more thing off the box as she has a one-on-one with Patrick Ewing.
What happens in Vermont?
Finally, Alex learns how to drive and gets a tattoo. Meanwhile, Alex also makes progress with Ezra as he watches Hamlet and completes Alex’s assignment in his unique way. Later, Brad and Alex hang out, and Alex expresses her concern that Alex is a part of Garret’s world, but he isn’t a part of hers. Furthermore, Brad puts a private detective on Johnny again, hoping for better results this time.
At home, Alex describes her feelings to Garret, and he promises to put in more effort. Just before dinner, Alex gets the news that Johnny lives in Vermont with a different name. As promised, Garret spends the night at Alex’s house and hangs out with her friends. However, Garret is mad by the end as Alex’s friends are not sophisticated, and Meghan asks Garret to get more serious as Alex has not checked true love off the list.
The Trip to Vermont
This leads to a big fight, and Garret leaves the house. Garret is to drive with her to Vermont, and when that does not happen, Alex invites Brad and Nina to join her. The trio arrives at the hotel, and it seems Nina feels jealous watching how close Brad and Alex are. Later, Brad informs Alex that Nina left as she had a work emergency, but Brad joins Alex to Johnny’s performance.
After the show, Johnny and Alex talk. Through Johnny, Alex learns that she was very close to Samuel as a child. They promise to meet the following day. That night, Brad and Alex get drunk. After a drunken night, Alex and Brad sleep together. The following day, Johnny does not show up. After reaching New York, Brad says he and Nina fought because of Alex, but somehow Alex thinks it’s a mistake, just as Garret pulls up. However, Alex does not continue to date Garret as she knows he is not the right one.
The Life List (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
At home, Lucas has taken it upon himself to help Alex check one more thing off her list by camping under the stars on a full moon day. As the siblings talk and get stoned, Julian and Lucas say they always felt left out when it came to Alex and Elizabeth’s relationship, just like Alex felt distanced from Samuel and the boys.
Out of curiosity, they ask what it is like to watch the DVD, so Alex plays them for the brothers, and they break down. Eventually, Alex makes amends with her father, Samuel. In December, Alex visits the lawyer to inform us about the list, but instead of Brad, Sullivan comes to take care of things. However, through Sullivan, Alex hears that Brad has become a full-time partner. Although Alex did not check off finding true love, Sullivan gave Alex the envelope. The house was always meant for Alex, and she could do what she wanted with it. There is also a provision to help with tax and maintenance. The last DVD gives Alex closure.
The Final Chapter: Love, Closure, and a New Beginning
Even though Alex can’t drive well, she takes her car and bangs into Brad’s car accidently. After asking the four questions, Alex realizes Brad is the one for her. However, Brad remembers the last time they met and is unsure if Alex knows what she is doing, so she tells him about the four questions, and they kiss. The scene is cut to December 31st, and Alex throws a New Year’s party. It also looks like Finn completed his video game, which is very popular. Weirdly, Brad loves the game. At the party, even Ezra is present. The party is at Alex’s house. In the end, Julian makes a toast to new friends and old as well as their mother, Elizabeth.
In the end, Alex officially checks everything off the list except true love. But towards the end of the film, with the four questions answered, it is obvious that Alex has found her true love in Brad. The whole point of the list was to help Alex live again, as these were her dreams once as a teenager. As Alex navigates through each of the tasks, she gets to live her life to the fullest and rediscover a part of her lost self. Alex probably hopes to have a better relationship with Johnny, but it seems like Johnny wants that as well. When he sees how happy Alex is with Samuel, he gave up on that dream years ago. In the end, Alex also receives the only thing she did care about deeply: the house, as it is filled with Elizabeth’s memories.
