To All the Boys I've Loved Before

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It may not be such a flourishing time for the cinema and DVDs, but it definitely can’t be said that the movie industry is floundering. Thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Stan, that have made so much money they can actually make their own films and TV series, bums and couches is a marriage that is quickly taking over with more and more dinner conversations centring around Netflix’ latest achievements. Recently, I’ve heard a lot of people talking about To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and so my bum entered into the relationship with my couch to find out what the big deal was.

The film tells the story of sixteen year-old Lara Jean (Lana Condor), an introverted teenager who writes secret love letters to the boys she’s got crushes on and fantasises about them rather than actually express her feelings to them. But her shy and hide-away natures get set for remodelling when her little sister posts the letters. Suddenly her secrets are out and one boy, Peter (Noah Centineo), decides that it would be a great idea to enter into a fake relationship with Lara Jean to make his recent ex jealous. Predictably, things get complicated when the two start to develop real feelings for each other.

While it is a very sweet movie with an original, yet recognisable story, I could not really see anything inherently special about To All the Boys. What I will applaud, and what I think audiences are really liking right now is the film’s ‘genuineness’ (for want of a better word) in that there are no clichéd or unbelievable genre tropes cluttering the story and working as clumsy catalysts for narrative progress. The movie has quite an ethical edge to it and it’s easy to imagine oneself being in that exact situation and wondering how one would react. So that’s nice.

Image credit: I Newspaper

The story is sweet with a good message about expression and using words, blended with nice themes about identity and allowing your personality to change naturally. Being mainly dialogue-driven, there aren’t that many visual gags to laugh out loud at, but this just adds to the simplicity and ‘realness’ of the whole thing. The performances are just as sweet and genuine as the rest of the movie, completing the ‘real rom-com’ aesthetic along with the not-so-subtle comments on popular culture and its penchant for the retro and vintage a la Easy A.

While I don’t think it’s a film that I would sit down and watch again, I am glad that I have seen it and I have to admit that it’s nice to see a romantic comedy that doesn’t overdo on the romanticism; there are no boomboxes being held above the guy’s head playing Peter Gabriel, no hunk waiting outside the church doors, practically no ‘80s references of any kind. It’s refreshing.

Director: Susan Johnson, 2018

Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Trezzo Mahoro, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Israel Broussard, and John Corbett