When it comes to using my Netflix subscription to get my romantic comedy fix, the results definitely vary. There’ve been some all-time greats, like To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before, Set It Up and Always Be My Maybe, and releases I’ve really not liked, such as The Kissing Booth movies and He’s All That. But, the latest of movies among 2025 Netflix release dates, The Life List, really had me not only swooning over its romance, but thinking about larger questions in my life.
And, this question: Why isn’t one of its stars, Kyle Allen, in everything yet? The lead who starred alongside Sofia Carson and Connie Britton absolutely deserves to be a lot more well known than he is, and I need to talk about it. Some SPOILERS are ahead, so watch the movie before reading!
Netflix’s The Life List Was Such A Sweet Movie, But Kyle Allen Made It Even Better
The Life List is currently the No. 1 Netflix movie globally (per Netflix) after hitting the streaming service on March 28. I didn’t know it was based on a novel, but I found myself immediately interested in going through the journey with Sofia Carson’s Alex soon after clicking play. Alex finding out her mother (played by Britton) left a unique request in her will in the midst of grieving over her recent death was such an intriguing way for a movie to start.
I was right there with her as she found out she was also fired from her role in her mother’s company, and asked her to complete the items of the “Life List” she made for herself at thirteen. Only if she completes all of them by New Years will she receive her inheritance, and with each item she checks off, she’ll receive a DVD her mom recorded. When Kyle Allen’s lawyer, Brad, showed up as the attorney handling the case, I had the immediate feeling he would become the love interest, because he’s adorable of course. I was absolutely right, but it didn’t take away from the enjoyment of watching the movie play out.
In fact, knowing how I wanted Alex and Brad to end up together (and knowing they probably would) only increased my interest in the storyline as Alex did things like try standup, learn to play “Clair de Lune” on the piano and “find true love,” with the wrong people. Sure, it was following a big classic romantic comedy trope, but Allen being that guy helped make it worth it all. When he ended up confessing to her (while they were in the car) that she dazzles him every time he sees her, my heart skipped a beat.
I’m Not Surprised Kyle Allen Is So Good In The Life List, Because I’ve Been Liking Him In Movies For A While
No wonder test screenings of The Life List had viewers breaking up with their partners, the movie totally ups the standards women should be looking for when it comes to finding Mr. Right. I, of course, loved the whole list of four questions that was set up for Alex to think about while choosing partners, but just having Allen in the movie was a green flag regarding my awareness that I would be feeling warm and fuzzy by the time the credits rolled.
I’ve seen him in a lot of movies over the years that have been less popular, and while not all of them have been good (such as the middling The In Between from Paramount+ in 2022), the actor is always a delight to watch, and makes the projects he’s in better. That’s not an easy thing to do as an actor, but Allen has the movie star stuff in my opinion! The first movie that really made me sit up and pay attention was when he was part of The Map of Tiny Perfect Things cast alongside Kathryn Newton in 2021. I still think about that movie, after giving it four stars in my review.
Since then I’ve been following the actor’s work, as he was in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story (although that role was small), and he played a new version of Romeo in Hulu’s Rosaline alongside Kaitlyn Dever and was additionally excellent in A Haunting In Venice alongside Kenneth Branagh, Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Dornan and Tina Fey.
He’s Also An Incredible Dancer?!
And, fun fact: Kyle Allen is a trained ballet dancer! Just check out this fun video he did with Sofia Carson on The Life List press tour:
KYLE ALLEN BALLET DANCING ALERT 🚨 pic.twitter.com/dQkHULjQbIApril 2, 2025
OK, why isn’t he an internet boyfriend? We need to make this happen already. The 30-year-old deserves to be as famous as Glen Powell, but with a gentler puppy-dog eyed persona. As Allen told Interview Magazine in 2016, he did sports acrobatics for six years before doing classical ballet for five years, but graduated from his school injured and uninterested in going professional. He started to book commercials and then landed his first high-profile project on Hulu’s The Path with Aaron Paul.
After The Life List, I Think It’s About Time Kyle Allen Was In All The Things
Because the actor has been coming up in the pandemic era through a lot of straight-to-streaming titles, I can understand why he’s not a household name yet. A lot of the titles he’s been in I truly don’t think I would have seen if I weren’t in a line of work that necessitates me watching all the things. But, now that The Life List is already a global hit that I think will probably be Allen’s most popular flick to date, I hope the Hollywood overlords are listening and he books all the roles, stat!
While I absolutely love seeing him in romantic movies, I think he can do all sorts of genres. I’d namely want to see him nab a big musical after seeing him kill his few scenes in West Side Story, but I hope he does it all! Next, he’ll be in Kathryn Bigelow’s upcoming thriller coming to Netflix this year, so I think he might be on his way already.