Me Before You
Rated: PG-13
Starring: Emilia Clarke and Sam Claflin
The Gist: It’s a love story, baby, just say yes!

The Trailer:

Warner Bros was nice enough to give me a few dozen special passes to a screening of Me Before You in Houston. I provided a download link to friends/readers who subscribe to my newsletter and they were gone before I could blink twice. This proves my theory that we, the movie goers of the world, are desperate for more love stories. HEAR ME HOLLYWOOD! LET’S DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, PLEASE.

(Side Note: I love you, Benjamin Walker. Long live The Choice.)

Me Before You has been on my radar since I read the book by JoJo Moyes. When I heard they were making it into a movie, I became nervous like any normal person, wondering if they were going to screw it up by lackluster casting.

Dear reader, my heartburn was all for naught. In a word? The casting was brilliant.

My Thoughts:

1. Let’s talk about Emilia Clarke for just a minute. Most of you know her as Daenerys Targaryen who lives in exile in Essos with her dragons on Game of Thrones. I know her as the adorable Louisa Clark with fiercely expressive eyebrows and a fun fashion sense from this movie. Emilia is my new crush. I think she, Tina Fey, Mindy Kaling and I would be fast friends. All I need is one road trip to prove this point. A cooler full of Dr Pepper, bag of sugary/salty snacks, combined with one amazing playlist and I’m convinced they would all agree to be bridesmaids at my wedding.
2. Sam Claftin plays Will Traynor. You may recognize Sam as one of my favorite characters from the Hunger Games seires, Finnick Odair. Sam is hotter than crap and can totally pull off a man struggling to find peace with his wheelchair. Will rarely smiles. But then Lou enters his life and everything changes. It only takes one sarcastic comment for Sam’s smile and that awesome dimple to make an appearance. When this happens, the screen lights up. So do my insides.
3. Downton Abbey’s Brendan Coyle plays Lou’s father. When he enters the shot, feel free to yell BATES like everyone did in my theater.
4. Matthew Lewis is Lou’s exercise-obsessed boyfriend. Running does the body good. Hello Neville Longbottom!
5. As you may have guessed, the romance between Lou and Will is a slow, slow burn. The director does a great job introducing small idiosyncrasies that makes us root for these to crazy kids to fall for each other. They pull back each other’s layers in an attempt to help the other grow and live life outside of his or her comfort zone. That vulnerability leads to intimate moments which leads to affection. I enjoyed every second of the journey.
6. Will has game without even trying. He’s a rock star.
7. You will want to buy a pair of bumblebee tights. Just do it.
8. You will want to cheer during a thunderstorm. Just do it.
9. You will want to cry like a baby on more than one occasion. Just do it.
10. Bring Kleenex. See above.
11. Sam and Emilia have incredible chemistry. It’s palpable. It’s the reason this movie works on so many levels. Not only is the romantic chemistry there, but both actors are ridiculously funny and can deliver a sarcastic line with complete charm.
12. Pay close attention when Will is leaving Lou’s house after her birthday. Will’s line may have provoked me choking on some popcorn. It was worth it.
13. The soundtrack is heavenly. It should be a rule that Ed Sheeran must be the background loop of every love story from here to eternity. Someone make that happen.
14. From his wheelchair, Will tells Lou that it’s her duty to live boldly. She needs to get out of town and experience the world. Lou considers his advice and turns it right back on him. If she’s to live boldly, he needs to teach her. So he does.

Survey Says
You will laugh more than you will cry. In fact, you will laugh so much that you may miss the next line of dialog. Embrace the laughter through tears, but don’t miss the moral of the story: We’ve been given one life on this earth and it’s our duty to live it well. Go see this movie on the big screen and thank me later.