To All The Boys I Loved Before was part of Netflix’s 2018 wave of romcom revivals. While there were other good movies like Always Be My Maybe, it’s All The Boys that spawned two sequels. While the first sequel, To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You didn’t recapture the heights of the original, the third and final entry in the romcom franchise, To All The Boys: Always and Forever, feels more subdued and realistic, despite copious amounts of saccharine poured into the heart of the movie.
Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) returns from a vacation in Seoul, intent on joining her boyfriend Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) in Stanford after graduating high school. Her plans for a perfect future, however, are upended when she is rejected by Stanford and has to settle for UC Berkeley, which is an hour’s drive away from Stanford. Things get even more complicated, however, when she visits New York on a school trip and falls in love with the NYU campus. While she’s busy preparing for her father’s impending wedding with Trina (Sarayu Blue), her relationship with Peter starts to fracture, as both become insecure about its longevity beyond high school.
What sets To All The Boys: Always and Forever apart from its predecessors is how the conflicts that Lara Jean is dealing with feel more relatable and engaging. Of course, having to deal with all your crushes finding out about your love letters is also a very teen thing (and very embarrassing), and exploring the ‘what ifs’ with one of them while trying to figure out your first relationship is also understandable. But there’s something inherently relatable about applying for college and hoping that you get in, especially when failing to do so means getting separated from your significant other. Of course, getting rejected from Stanford is still more of a privilege than most people experience, but to these teens, it can feel like the end of the world.
Lana Condor and Peter Kavinsky are still adorable as an onscreen couple. There’s enough warmth there without becoming too cheesy. Of course, they haven’t slept together yet, and this becomes a delicate point of contention later on when Lara Jean tries to initiate an encounter on prom night after feeling insecure.
The supporting cast is mostly in the background: you get the idea that Christine (Madeleine Arthur) is an off-beat girl who is in no hurry to get into a relationship and is taking a break year after high school, and that Gen (Emilija Baranac) has more to her than being a former romantic rival for Lara Jean. However, the film is banking on your prior knowledge from previous films and doesn’t really give much material for these side characters. Thankfully, the rapport between Lara Jean and her sisters is more noticeably present throughout the film.
To All The Boys: Always and Forever feels like a fitting conclusion to the franchise.
It’s sweetly insular, as most teen movies are, rarely going beyond the confines of its comfort zone. But we need comfort movies like these from time to time, to use as emotional pillows to rest against and just unwind for an hour or two.
Director Michael Fimognari rounds out the finale with a montage of Lara Jean and Peter’s relationship from the previous movies, giving off a feeling of closure and optimism for the future. I can only guess how much of an impact To All The Boys has had on its Gen Z fans, but hopefully, they will be able to treasure and cherish the trilogy like others did before them with films like The Breakfast Club.
