To All The Boys: Always and Forever (2021)
“I’m a person who saves things. I’ll hold on forever.” – Lara Jean.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever (2021)
Directed by: Michael Fimognari
Written by: Kate Lovejoy (screenplay), based on the novel by Jenny Han
Starring: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathart
Soooooo…when I said I’d watch anything, I wasn’t lying. I’ve watched my fair share of rom-coms, including a bunch of Netflix originals over the past few years as they try to reignite the teen rom-com genre. Some are really good, some are really bad, and this lands in the ‘good but not great’ pile.
Based on the book series by Jenny Han, this is the final film of the ‘To All the Boys’ Netflix trilogy that became a smash hit – with the first movie coming out in 2018. For what it’s worth, the first movie is by far the best, with the second being a bit iffy, and this being better than the second.
The series focuses on the relationship between Lara Jean Covey (Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Centineo), which blossoms from a junior school crush into a meaningful partnership, as the two navigate high school. Always and Forever sees the two enter their final year of school, planning for their big transition to college. They’re based in America, so the proximity of their two colleges is the key plot point in the film. Peter has gotten into Stanford on a lacrosse scholarship, so Lara Jean hopes to follow him. However, when she doesn’t get in and is tempted by New York University across the country, they must work out whether the relationship or their futures are more important.
It's a good premise, and a good way to put a bow on any ‘high school drama’ – the transition to the ‘real world’ and adulthood. There’s a prom scene, a wedding scene, and the always-great ‘high school trip to exotic location’ (New York City) – so you get all the high school movie greatest hits. The key theme is once again ‘relationships’, and you not only get the great on-screen chemistry of Lara Jean and Peter, but the relationships of those in their orbit. These include: Lara and her sisters (particularly with her quirky littler sister Kitty), Lara’s dad and his new wife, Lara and her new stepmum, Lara and her best friend Chris, Peter and his estranged dad, Lara becoming friends with her old arch-nemisis Genevieve, and both Peter and Lara’s best friends becoming a couple. This is not only an effort to wrap up the series by hitting on all the key characters, but an emphasis that friendships are just as important as romantic relationships throughout our lives. The film is incredibly light-hearted for the most part, with a lot of the usual pop culture references to John Hughes films, ‘funny rom-com dad’ moments from Lara’s dad (played by John Corbett), and good comedic relief from their friends Chris (Madeleine Arthur) and Trevor (Ross Butler – who by the way is basically Netflix’s “best friend” pin up boy now, having played the same role in 13 Reasons Why and Riverdale).
The two stars of the show, Condor and Centineo, are fantastic once again as the main couple, with their effortless chemistry no doubt a by-product of their off-screen friendship. It’s been pretty cool to see these two evolve since the first film, with Centineo is particularly seemingly about to launch into superstardom, if he isn’t there already. He’s already headlined two other Netflix rom-coms (The Perfect Date and Sierra Burgess is a Loser), played a small role in the 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot, and is about to star in three huge hollywood movies, including two superhero movies. His arrow is very much pointing up, and (as my girlfriend keeps reminding me) he is very much still a teen idol. Condor, on the other hand, has been much quieter, outside of a small role in Alita: Battle Angel in 2018, and a starring role in a small coming of age film called Summer Night in 2019. Having said this, due to the overwhelming success of this franchise and her enigmatic personality, I’m sure we’ll see her on the big screen again before too long.
Now, despite the mostly positive review so far, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. In fact, I have a few nits to pick here. Firstly, what the hell is going on for the colour palate with this movie – there’s blue bloody everywhere. Everything is blue, and once you notice it you can’t ignore it. Everything in Lara Jean’s house is blue (including all her books…what?), everyone only wears blue clothes at their school, every café they go to has blue theming – IT’S ABSOLUTELY INFURIATING. Enough of the blue, Michael Fimognari. There a few other glaring plot holes in the movie, including (note, some very minor spoilers here):
They go on a school trip to New York and then get split into separate school groups with chaperones. The montage of Lara Jean and Chris then just shows them going to 19 bakeries around the city with no other students or teachers present. What the hell is this school trip?
Lara Jean applies to New York University, and then doesn’t even realise she’s walking through NYU campus until someone tells her. She didn’t do any research at all?
Wouldn’t Peter and Lara Jean have discussed the different places they had applied to college and planned all possibilities?
Kitty starts dating a boy who doesn’t like Harry Potter. Impossible. Everyone likes Harry Potter.
Peter wins homecoming king at prom, and then he has to dance with some other random girl who is the homecoming queen. Maybe this is a real thing in the States, but I thought this was a bit weird – can’t they just dance with their dates or something?
A few very minor things, obviously, but there’s just something a bit….off….with the script in this one. Maybe I’m just insane and can’t get over the stupid blue colour palate. You watch it for Peter and Lara Jean, not the residual minutia, but it wouldn’t be super hard to fix some of these.
I can’t believe I’ve just written 1000 words on this movie, but there you go. If you’re a fan of teen romantic comedies, I highly recommend this trilogy. It’s not The Notebook or 10 Things I Hate About You, but it’s lighthearted and entertaining, with two leads and a couple you can get behind. Try and ignore the ridiculous overabundance of the colour blue and you’ll have a fun time.
[Obviously start with the first movie]
Rating: 6.5/10