By JEANNI RITCHIE
I knew when I left the theater after seeing It Ends With Us that there would be a good-natured rivalry over who topped the boxed office in the Reynolds-Lively home this weekend.
Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool and Wolverine had been at the number 1 spot for two weeks and was still going strong when wife Blake Lively’s It Ends With Us adaptation of the popular 2016 Colleen Hoover novel hit the screens. It was the ultimate destination for a good old fashioned GNO.
Judging from the packed parking lot at my local theater it was going to be a photo finish. While I wasn’t sure who would come out on top, I was certain both would emerge victorious.
After all, acting is a family affair as the spouses are highly involved in each other’s work. Lively starred as Lady Deadpool in Deadpool and Wolverine while their 7-year old daughter Inez starred as Kidpool and 1-year old son Olin had a voice cameo as Babypool. The script, cowritten by Reynolds, had lots of cheeky references to his wife and her previous acting roles.
Reynolds also had a hand in writing his wife’s new film, creating the rooftop scene that set the tone for the drama. Both spouses have said in interviews that they are highly engaged in the creative process of their films, a quality that makes them as vital to the film onscreen as well behind the scenes.
Lively’s movies are often psychologically complex but Reynolds helps his wife maintain that girl next door vibe with a healthy dose of pranking and trolling each other on social media. They don’t take their fame seriously but they do take their family seriously.
They also take their careers seriously. From his sitcom Two Guys and a Girl to the blockbuster Deadpool series, Reynolds has had massive hits including The Proposal and Definitely, Maybe. Lively became a household name while starring on Gossip Girl, but is also very adept at bringing popular book characters to life from Bridget in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants to Emily in A Simple Favor and its upcoming sequel. With her recent turn as Lily Bloom in It Ends With Us, I couldn’t wait to find out who won the box office showdown. I just knew there was some kind of quirky bet behind closed doors in the Reynolds-Lively household.
The envelope, please…
It is Deadpool and Wolverine for the box office win but not by much! In its third weekend, the Shawn Levy-directed Marvel flick slightly edged out the romantic drama at the weekend box office 56.4 million to 50 million.
But if I’m casting a vote…the award definitely goes to Lively for pulling off crop tops and sexy lingerie three months after delivering her fourth child. I, too, have four kids. But my youngest is 29 and my abs are still in hiding!
Jeanni Ritchie is a film buff and pop culture fanatic. She can be reached at jeanniritchie54@gmail.com.