I’m not usually one for romcoms, but I guess we all make exceptions when Netflix hyper-markets a film with an Asian lead! To All The Boys: Always and Forever is the third movie of the infamous To All The Boys trilogy, which was originally a book series written by Jenny Han. The movie adaptations have been steadily released by Netflix since 2018.
Only the first book felt truly juicy; Lara Jean, the protagonist, goes through a hot teenage crisis of having all her previous loves respond to her deeply romantic written letters which were posted secretly by her pesky sister. But the books that followed have a pretty pretentious stench; they claim that true, lasting love does not depend solely on age. I usually agree, though, in this film we see Lara Jean and Peter continue their questionable relationship in their senior year. Half of the film is just Lara Jean deciding where to go for uni and Peter’s location being the basis of that. Then, when she decides where she wants to go, Peter lashes out and becomes unreasonable. However, all conflict disappears when Lara Jean forgives him again and they continue to remain ‘in love’. The other half of the film is just a VSCO-filtered mess.
I am not a cynic, but To All The Boys: Always and Forever make love look like it’s not worth falling into. Throughout the trilogy the couple just show a lack of communication and maturity, but if I am being honest, that’s what makes the film so gag-worthy and, simultaneously, worth the watch (sober or not!). It’s definitely a good experience, with a healthy helping of cringe. I’d give it a three out of ten at most, but, honestly, the points are because it was entertaining and funny for all the wrong reasons.
Available on Netflix