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To All The Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean concludes the trilogy that took Netflix and the rom-com world by storm back in 2018. Based on the best-selling books by Jenny Han, the story follows Lara Jean Song Covey, portrayed by actress Lana Condor, who writes, but never sends, love letters to her various crushes over the years as a way to get over them. One fateful morning, her little sister Kitty mails all five letters to the recipients…including her older sister Margot’s ex. Lara Jean must team up with Peter Kavinsky, portrayed by actor Noah Centineo, one of the recipients, to fake-date and act as though she’s moved on in order to spare Margot’s feelings and help make Peter’s ex jealous.
Being a rom-com, of course, Lara Jean and Peter fall in love and end up together. Throughout the trilogy, that love gets tested through the trials and tribulations of high school, growing up, and familial fights. Both our heroine and love interest face challenges individually and together. But through it all, the sugary, light-hearted love story remains as sweet now as it did three years ago. To All The Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean ties up the loose ends of this fluffy, confectionary-esque trilogy in a way that book and film fans will find satisfying and sweet.
Senior Year And Beyond
The plot follows Lara Jean and Peter as they navigate their second-semester senior year as Lara Jean, ever the planner, has her and Peter’s entire future mapped out. They’ll go to college together, graduate, get married, and move in together, their happily ever after so close she can taste it. But then she gets rejected from Stanford; the school Peter will be attending on a lacrosse scholarship. Suddenly, Lara Jean’s plans crumble, and her entire future becomes murky — which includes her relationship with Peter.
While deceptively simple, the plot allows Lara Jean plenty of space and time to grow into herself. She gets to explore other college options and prepare to face the world after that high school diploma hits her hand. All the cute moments she and Peter get to share aren’t rushed and are treated with care. There’s also plenty of time for her dad’s wedding, a class trip to New York City, a family vacation to Seoul that opens the film, and more. The audience gets to join Lara Jean in her new beginnings and nostalgic ends.
The changes Lara Jean faces in the last semester of her senior year prove integral to her character development. While she’s still introverted at heart, audiences see her explore The Big Apple, spontaneously attend a college party with her best friend, and even help some NYU girls get a couch back from an ex-boyfriend. The Lara Jean from the first film would never partake in such unplanned antics! While she still holds true to her core personality traits and morals, our heroine shows she’s growing up and even embracing that growth. She’s heading off to college stronger, smarter, and still optimistic.
Lara Jean’s Choice Prevails
In the sequel, Lara Jean found herself in a love triangle between Peter and her former middle school best friend John Ambrose McClaren, and she ultimately chooses to be with Peter. That choice didn’t satisfy some fans (honestly, I’m still kinda Team John). After all, on paper, Lara Jean Song Covey and Peter Kavinsky shouldn’t work. The introverted, hopeless romantic baker would never mesh well with the popular jock, right? But they prove that notion so very, very wrong. This film in particular really displays why they work so well together. And it’s that very word; work.
Any relationship takes effort, and showcasing a teen couple who’s willing to work through their issues, apologize when they make a mistake and hurt the other person, and not give up on each other is a refreshing change of pace from the slew of toxic, unhealthy relationships that oversaturate the genre. The chemistry between Condor and Centineo feels as electric as it did back in 2018, and the sparks between the two continue to fly in this installment. They’re believable as a couple, and if any Team John loyalists are still out there, this film’s effort to show why Lara Jean picked Peter is a pretty darn good one.
Peter greets Lara Jean when she comes back from South Korea with flowers, hugs, and kisses. He recreates the iconic boom box scene from Say Anything. When Lara Jean worriedly rambles about her murky future, he cuts her off to ask if she’s okay. And at the end of the film, he creates his own original grand gesture reminiscent of the ’80s rom coms Lara Jean so dearly loves. While he still makes less than stellar decisions that only teenage boys are capable of making, viewers who go into this film still hesitant about Lara Jean’s choice in Peter should leave with warmer feelings towards both him and her choice from the previous installment.
Real Issues For Real Teens
In Always and Forever, Lara Jean, there’s no chase scene on a highway. There’s no murder or mayhem. The simplicity of the core conflict-Lara Jean not getting into the same college Peter has a lacrosse scholarship to-proves realistic. Not going to the same college as your significant other may not have the same ring to it as solving a centuries-old cold case, but it’s an issue real teens-including my parents once upon a time-face. The realness of it helps ground audiences to the story. It may even bring back memories of high school days long forgotten.
It can be fun watching high schoolers played by twenty-somethings cook up a completely unrealistic fundraising idea in The Kissing Booth that no school would ever actually approve. Watching a teenage girl knowingly catfish a boy in Sierra Burgess is a Loser can feel both sickening and jarring. Much of teen-centered media nowadays put an over-the-top plot, over-focusing on issues the average teenager encounters. While such extreme escapist media has its place in streaming catalogs and movie theaters, the absurdness of plots like these can pull an audience right out of the story.
That’s not to say other films or shows in the genre don’t touch on straining friendships, familial ties getting severed, and more. But Always and Forever, Lara Jean reflects on the bittersweet moments of growing up. Lara Jean and Kitty discuss how much they’ll miss each other when she’s at school. She and Peter both worry the distance between them next year might split them up for good. Chris, Lara Jean’s best friend, will be in Costa Rica during her gap year.
Leaving a sibling, best friend, and significant other behind for college aren’t the flashiest things to show on screen, but they are some of the most realistic displayed in recent rom-com memory. While audiences may have never had their secret love letters mailed out by their little sister, many can relate to the growing pains senior year of high school brings. The film focuses on a brief chapter of a character’s life allows for quiet reflection from the audience about their own final semester in high school and all the memories that resurface because of it.
The Marks This Finale Missed
Despite boasting stronger acting and storytelling than other recent teen Netflix movies, the film is not without its flaws. With a nearly two-hour runtime, Always and Forever, Lara Jean stretches itself thinner than the cake batter Lara Jean whips up in her kitchen. The film’s length can be felt throughout, and after the fourth or fifth montage coupled with an upbeat pop song, audiences may find themselves growing restless. A few of these montages could’ve been axed altogether, as they provide nothing more to the story than an extra layer of sweetness that, while satisfying in small doses, becomes almost sickly after their repeated occurrences.
The film’s editing also leaves much to be desired. Sprinkled throughout the film are sharp, sudden cuts to new scenes. There are a few cutesy, illustrated transitions to mark a milestone event or cover a large distance traveled by the characters. But the lack of smooth transitions pulls you out of the previous scene, reminding you that you’re watching a film instead of being completely immersed in one. They distract from the story in multiple scenes.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean, however, is a significant step up in terms of pacing and storytelling from the last installment, P.S. I Still Love You. The first film in this trilogy remains the strongest of the three. The sequel and conclusion’s direction, editing, tone, and overall structure never quite match up to the original’s. While better than the sequel, the finale of this trilogy isn’t quite as magical as the first. But despite a few missteps, this finale overall manages to stick the landing.
But The Good Outweighs The Bad
Despite a few flaws, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean still has an overwhelming amount of good. With the continuous color palette of pinks, blues, yellows, and other warm, soft colors, the romantic tone becomes enhanced. The camera angles are more varied and work better in this installment than the previous. Strong acting from the two leads shows how much they’ve grown in their craft since the first film. Condor and Centineo both get scenes involving different kinds of heartbreak, and it allows them to showcase a wider range of their acting skills.
A scene involving callbacks to the previous films will undoubtedly leave book and film fans’ hearts on the verge of bursting. This movie knows it’s the conclusion, the end of an era, and it takes that weight with it all throughout. Through all the film’s confectionary-esque sweetness, there are enough serious moments, such as Peter’s estranged father attempting to make amends, to bring a steady balance in tone. The movie knows and respects its audience and what viewers want and delivers on the romantic and heavier scenes alike.
Pastels In A World Of Gray
The winter blues rippled throughout the population even in the best of years and coupled with the emotional, physical, and financial strains the coronavirus pandemic has put on so many, the gray, cold days seem to bleed together. A need for something hopeful and just the right amount of escapist hasn’t been this strong in a while. To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean provides the fluffy, sugary-sweet film that can warm hearts long since frozen. In a world flooded with so much pain, a feel-good story about love, growing up, and the hope of moving forward has never been more pertinent.
While this franchise may never grab gold at The Oscars, that doesn’t negate the positive impact the films have had on both the rom-com genre and its viewers. In an industry where only 2 out of 10 lead actors are people of color, according to UCLA’s Hollywood Diversity Report of 2019, an Asian woman being the leading lady of such a well-received and successful film trilogy is both important and long overdue. The need for representation in films remains prevalent in all genres, especially in rom coms. This trilogy may help open the door for more diverse romance films in the future.
If you want proof that the modern rom-com isn’t dead, or you just want to satisfy your craving for something sweet, this film, and its predecessors, aren’t to be missed. To All The Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean is now streaming on Netflix.
