Romance flick Purple Hearts shot to the top of the Netflix charts almost as soon as it dropped on the streaming service, but not everyone is impressed with the love story.
After tuning in to see the story of Cassie (Sofia Carson) and her soldier husband Luke (Nicholas Galitzine) unfold, military wives are calling out the film for glamorising the gut-wrenching moments.
When she took to Facebook to share her thoughts on the film and detail the real-life process of sending a loved one off to war, army spouse Emma Tighe went pretty viral.
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Purple Hearts tells the story of aspiring musician Cassie and US Marine Luke, who couldn't be more different, but decide to get married before he heads off to war so they can both reap the benefits. When the makeshift couple set their differences aside to make their marriage look real, it isn't long before they really fall for each other.
Kansas-based Emma Tighe, who has been a military spouse for 11 years, racked up an impressive eight thousand likes and shares when she noted just how far the film was from real life.
After catching the trailer and poster for the film, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Tess Wakefield, Emma wrote: "The military spouse world is in a tizzy over the new Netflix movie Purple Hearts, a movie where a girl and a marine get married to get her healthcare and to get him out of barracks and they end up in love.
"AKA a normal Tuesday on any military spouse Facebook group."
She continued: "Anyway. What I’m more upset about is the poster.
"Anyone who is a military spouse knows that the only acceptable way to send your husband off to war is in a messy bun, pjs, puffy eyes and a bad attitude because it’s the third time you’ve dropped him off after the unit forgot to schedule a bus or plane or something is missing or someone is missing or just because they said so.
"It is now 3 am, you’ve said goodbye 8 times, and it becomes a tuck and roll situation as you dust off the Taco Bell wrappers y’all chowed down in the parking lot. Accuracy matters y’all."
Fellow military spouses couldn't agree more with Emma's description, and took to the comments to share their own thoughts on the film.
"I definitely agree, I would have watched it if it was showcasing the actual lunacy of military life. I think they would have made more money that way lol Taco Bell wrappers and all!" wrote one user.
"I just watched the preview and I'm sorry but I kinda want to vomit a little in the back of my mouth", commented a second. "This seems like blatant patriot baiting romanticisation of military life."
After taking the time to sit through the full movie, Emma explained why she struggles to enjoy films like Purple Hearts.
"I have a really hard time with military movies," she told Today.
"They either hit too close to home or they’re so far away from it, it’s hard to watch. This was a good movie. I won’t take from that. The actors were wonderful, but the dialogue was not the best."
While Emma is among the many who take issue with the emotional flick, others are falling head over heels for it, thanks to its tried and tested rom-com tropes.
The cheesy enemies-to-lovers storyline is really hitting the sweet spot for die-hard romance fans - whether it's true to life or not.
Purple Hearts is available to stream now on Netflix.
Topics: TV And Film, Netflix
Ali Condon