Life in a Year (2020) User Reviews

Solid young duo makes it watchable.

[RJBrez · 6/10 · 3 December 2020]

Life in a Year is predictable in a way, like most of these movies , but it tried to put its own spin on this story.

Jaden Smith is growing on me. You can tell he's talented and will keep growing as a performer. Cara is great like normal.

So don't listen to the overly negative reviews on here. That's just 2020 internet troll stuff. Most of these clowns on here just need something to do so they b-tch about everything. If you hate a certain type of movie, don't watch it. That's easier than watching it and then complaining about it. Me? I hate musicals. So I don't watch them and then blame the cast for me hating it. Get a life people.

This is decent. People just like to hate Jaden.

[cascas-40925 · 6/10 · 4 December 2020]

This was a decent romantic young people movie. I've seen both better and worse. People just hate Jaden for the most ridiculous reasons. It debuted on Prime it's not like you had to buy a ticket. Jaden is okay in his scenes. However, he brings heavy emotion quite well. I wouldn't have bought a ticket for this but I'm okay with it being in the Prime library. The more experienced actors did very well. I do respect the acceptance without making it preachy. If you watch it you'll know. Overall, it's a decent romance movie. Watch appreciate life a bit, respect folks fighting for their lives and folks whose lives were ended too soon.

Surprisingly watchable - even though predictable

[flashlightreview · 6/10 · 27 November 2020]

Cara was the reason why I even bothered to look into this film. The initial premise sounded a lot like "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)" - but it was a new take on it. A young couple from different sides of the track get to know each other and make it work; against parents, against odds and also against their own initial doubt.

The two develop enough chemistry to come across as a believable, albeit unlikely, couple. The lead actors are fine, the supporting actors were not my favorite. The plot itself plays itself out around half-time and then fizzles out from there.

Was it a worthy watch? Since I had nothing else to do on Black Friday, yes. Would I waste valuable time for it instead of doing something else - No.

Not just another romance/drama... It is a story of unconditional love that shows us the important things in life. A MUST seen for the fans!

[Mivas_Greece · 7/10 · 23 July 2021]

Romantic/Dramatic movie. Surprisingly, it is a very good movie in the genre that many will love! Despite some similarities to other ones, this film has its own character, its own style and shows us important messages beyond its dramatic style. Cara Jocelyn Delevingne is excellent in her role as many of the protagonists. Very nice presentation of the script combined with the messages for the most important things in life. Some slightly stupid elements could have been excluded, but as a whole it is very good without giving a strong dramatic element except for emotion at the end. One of the best films Jaden Smith played. It is recommended to all fans of the genre! I will definitely watch it again!

Retread teen issues, see it if it is free.

[TxMike · 3 December 2020]

Beware, there are several "10" reviews by people who just recently have established their accounts, most likely studio shills to get the rating up. This is becoming more and more routine on the IMDb. You'd best ignore them.

My greatest disappointment with this film is casting Jaden Smith as the boyfriend. If you do a search on the terms "can't act" you might well get a photo of Jaden Smith. He drags the movie down.

A few years ago he was featured in "After Earth" with his dad, on that role I wrote, "This is a very plain story, and relies on young Jaden Smith to convince us he can carry an action movie. He showed us he can't. He is not a good actor, and he enunciates so poorly that we often had difficulty even understanding what he said."

Other than that it is a decent story, although told many times before, and Cara Delevingne is really good in a challenging role. See the movie if you will, just don't expect too much. It is available FREE on Amazon so you are only out a bit of your time.

A slightly refreshing experience

[spencerthetracy · 6/10 · 2 December 2020]

I watched it last night. Its certainly obvious that the young Smith is growing up. He places a smile on many faces with his earnest effort. The performances of the leads are believable but there was very little chemistry between the two. He played a likeable and intelligent character and he pulls it off quite well. Cara also pulled off her role, but the role was just one more smart alec girl who is hard to get to know.

And it looks like Jaden is still learning about timing. The other characters were nice, especially his mom.

Melodramatic at times but overall a great film!

[lizxypopcornkid · 7/10 · 30 November 2020]

Cara delegvines performance truly makes this movie, her characters spunky attitude and vibrant wigs are used to cover up the true pain she is going through which is unleashed at the end of the film along with her incredible heart reaching performance. Jaden smith is also rather good in this film and I truly believe his acting has greatly evolved. My face looked like an exploded water balloon by the end of this film, it's unbearably beautiful. Just watch it, if you don't feel anything I would question wether you have a heart.

OMG

[barradeandco · 1/10 · 24 September 2021]

Never ever done a review before but my God this is bad. This is a typical example of a famous son being told they are amazing when they are clearly not!!

Thousand movies watched - 1st review

[foxstreet-78999 · 9/10 · 5 December 2020]

I've never felt compelled to write a review until I read some of the bad reviews for this movie. This was a well-written and very well-acted film. Yes, there's a teen romance (which shouldn't have surprised anyone who watched the trailer first); but I found it to be a whole lot more than that. I'm 49, and I connected with it instantly. Jaden Smith is so good in this performance that you feel what his character is feeling - best kind of movie. Highly recommend.

Sacrifice

[nogodnomasters · 7/10 · 27 December 2020]

Daryn (Jaden Smith ) has his life planned out by his father (Cuba Gooding Jr.). It is not a bad plan, it includes going to Harvard. Daryn meets Isabelle (Cara Delevingne ) who is stage 4 and his life gets sidetracked to the dismay of his father. Daryn wants to be a rapper and like his real life father, he can't rap either put will look good for the production.

Teen love story with teen dying from cancer. Another sure tear jerker. I wish they would stop pushing Jaden Smith at us on the screen. There are much better actors out there. Cuba Gooding Jr. did a good job.

Guide: No swearing, sex, or nudity as I recall.

You have already seen this movie

[fredrik-rydell · 1/10 · 4 September 2021]

Without even knowing it. The original movie is alot better and named A walk to remember.

I FOUND IT REALLY GOOD

[mikropapii · 9/10 · 3 December 2020]

I actually enjoyed it. I don't understand all this hate.

i like it

[ankit-amiable · 7/10 · 22 March 2021]

What can I say? The movie is appropriately directed to give a wake-up call to those who think they will live forever, but few like me who are already haunted by such fears; it is extremely disturbing. I am dicey about how it will make others feel, but it will surely stir up the emotions long-held unreleased or unrealized.

Nepotism strikes again.

[napo3971 · 1/10 · 30 November 2020]

There's a scene in The Disaster artist, where Judd Apatow tells Tommy Wiseau, played by James Franco, how hard it is to make it. I wish he would remember that the next time, he and other powerful actors and filmmakers use their substantial clout to have their family cast on a show or in a film. It's a shame that two people like Will and Jada Smith, who made It on merit would take away a role from a deserving actor. Shame on them.

Formula

[faer_kr · 7/10 · 7 February 2021]

The new version of "Under the Same Stars" uses the same terminal illness movie formula. It feels more like a teen drama than a romantic comedy. It's about a boy who meets a girl when he wants to go to a concert and is dazzled by her, until he asks her out of it. Use the law of the handsome poles of attract. Quality. Entertaining Although it is a repeated formula, it has its essence and entertains. The performances are in place. He talks about life, about taking advantage of the moments we have, about loving those who are close to us, about not following formulas or recipes, being spontaneous. Emotional moments. Take out the tissue box that will make you tear a tear.

Jaden, read the comments ... The movie is not bad, they are Jealous of you.

[yusufpiskin · 6/10 · 2 December 2020]

This is a tear-jerker that features damn good performances from Jaden Smith and Cara Delevigne. Overused tropes and cliches aside I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked this movie. The first half is kinda silly but hang in there because the second half will break your heart.

Why all the hate for the movie?

[hamidmohammed-98898 · 7/10 · 5 December 2020]

I think the movie not that bad to hate it. It's fun and I enjoy it, and the acting was good.

2/10

[rafaellara-94872 · 2/10 · 11 March 2022]

Didn't like the characters, they were 2D and forced (Ex.: One friend used to be fat and the other was insecure, that's literally all there was to them).

Many things were poorly/never explained (Ex.: Not once did they talk about the dad's work/life, so all his discipline/sacrifice stuff falls flat).

All the rap stuff was cringe and unbelievable. Not once the movie made me think he actually had any talent or that he really liked music and rapping.

Unbelievable stuff: Dumb fight with the security guy, he shoplifts like its nothing (in the U. S.), they break into a hotel and it's never mentioned again, girl is dying but lives her life normally...

Acting is often bad, especially when the script makes the characters do out-of-character extreme stuff, like getting mad for no reason, breaking stuff, yelling...

Ending is terrible, the whole "message on the radio" thing couldn't be more forced and unbelievable.

It felt like they couldn't decide if they wanted a romance or a sad love story, so they did half half and it got real messy.

I don't get the hate

[bbird216 · 8/10 · 2 December 2020]

I don't seek out romantic movies but wife got to choose. I had no idea what the movie was about so the cancer reveal got my attention and didn't let go. I knew where the movie was probably heading and there were some little twists along the way. Reading most of the negative comments on here I see a lot of people projecting onto the actors or the Smith/Pinkett family and not actually the merits of the film. It was a good watch with a diverse set of characters mirror the real world - not just some WASP pocket of America.

Way better than the haters lead you to believe!

[dismantlexme · 7/10 · 10 December 2020]

Not sure what all the hate is about! Yeah it's a story about coming of age teens, struggling with life, learning to be themselves and falling in love. And yes... The storyline has been done before and it's been done better, but who cares! This movie has a lot of important lessons about living your dreams, being your authentic self and not being afraid of what other people think. I found all the characters in this film to have depth and I cared about them and that's what I really like from a movie. I have seen some pretty horrid crap movies in my life and this definitely isn't one of them. Sure, it's no Oscar winner, but it made me feel things and that's all I want from a good film sometimes.

Disappointing

[atractiveeyes · 4/10 · 28 November 2020]

Well although the story of this movie is so repetitive it's still good and touching but the movie fails to portray it well. It's so cheesy, cliched and predictable with many silly and childish scenes. It's full of stupid and annoyingly exaggerated moments as well. The chemistry between Cara and Jaden is bad and Jaden's acting in some scenes is awful. The good thing about this film is Cara Delevingne's acting and character, and the movie has a few emotional moments. Life in a Year is a bad movie with a heartbreaking story.

Watch before you judge it off the bad reviews

[mangels2 · 10/10 · 4 December 2020]

I'm amazed at how much hate this movie is getting and it's not because of the film but based on who produced it, which quite frankly is unnecessary. Anyways I watched this movie with my daughter and enjoyed it a lot, we laughed we cried and smiled. The storyline was amazing and the acting was on point. Please give it a chance and judge it for yourself.

BETTER THAN I EXPECTED

[galexanderp · 7/10 · 13 December 2020]

I began watching this movie expecting to be bored to death but who knew I was not. I have always liked Jaden Smith since he was little. In this movie you can see he has matured as an actor. His screen presence is undeniable I guess he has that Will Smith charm about him.

The movie starts out lame and the supporting actors were not a good choice because the chemistry between them was not evident. But then a little further into plot the movie kind of grabs you and Jaden turns in his best performance to date. I always knew he had potential despite his previous bad reviews. Is it an Oscar contender ? of course not. Was it run of the mill not at all.

One comment about movies being made today: Why does it seem that in a lot of movies being made today the almost obligatory throw -up scene has to be included. Do movie makers think that audiences actually enjoy seeing people throwing up especially when it is not necessary. Please stop it.

It's not bad acting, it's just bad.

[gazgil · 1/10 · 1 February 2021]

Fine, I knew before watching that as an older person I was probably not the age demographic for this movie. But this movie is wrong.

Having cancer sucks, but I don't believe it gives you license to to be an obnoxious brat who doesn't need to obey the law. When we are introduced to Cara's character she is trying to break into a dance club and physically assaults a security guard with a brick.

However, its the Dad, Cuba's character, who is the villain of the piece. Yes, he is an OTT controlling dad. But he just wants what's best for his son, misguided as his attempts might be.

But, let's get back to the girl. She then goes with the son on a road trip where they commit theft, break and enter and take drugs. Lovely, uplifting romance.

Oh, then there is the trans "au pair" who twice commits theft which the movie justifies because the person stolen from is intolerant.

These values really worry me. This is not a sweet movie at all. This movie is broken. 1 point for the hedgehog.

Not just acting...

[ElDuderino7 · 19 December 2020]

The majority of the user reviews focuses on bad acting performances and although the acting performances truly are a great component to the integrity of a movie, it still can not be the main reason to judge whether the movie is good or bad. So first of all the acting sure is not this movie's greatest virtue, but neither it's worst one. Let us just stay with saying that the casting is debatable.

When you read Life in a year's summary of a plot you know exactly what to expect. You know there is going to be a romance between a boy and a dying girl with a sad ending. You know that. You go with that. You are in a mood for that sort of a movie, or you need some low-brain activity relaxation. Movies like that purely entertain and that is great, we need those kinds of movies.

One movie critic once said that romance movies are the hardest to write. Why? Because the audience knows what is going to happen, yet a screenplay writer still has to come up with a script that in some way is going to differ from other romcoms. This movie could not fail more in this aspect. There is nothing wrong with a few cliches in a romantic movie because you expect them. They are comforting, they are relying upon that the audience just excepts them, the audience won't judge them, they just feel them. But if the movie is stringing them up one after the other the outcome is a bad movie.

You have a wild and lively parentless girl Isabelle with a terminal disease, you have Daryn, a nerd kid who needs some unruliness in his life, but his strict and controlling father gets in the way. You have a loving mother who loves and supports her son's romance and sees a bigger picture. You have two friends who help Daryn to reach his goal. Now imagine a plot. Write down scene after scene (some of them look like a music video - you know driving on a road 15 km/h so the actress' hair is not flattering in the wind), add a few cringes. Then you watch Life in a year. You probably guessed the majority of the scenes in this movie. This movie is begging writers for some sort of creativity but it gets none.