New Netflix Original ‘To all the Boys I’ve Loved Before’ Shocks Media

Ariel Castillo, Editor-In-Chief

“To all the Boy’s I’ve Loved Before” finally made its debut premier on Netflix on Aug. 17. Based off of the novel written by, Jenny Han, the film had more than a positive reaction on the social media platforms, gaining more and more attention.

This film first introduces us to the main character, Lara Jean Song Covey (Lana Condor), whose quirky personality and knee-high socks reminds us that the ‘80s isn’t dead. Her “outsider” persona throws us back to Molly Ringwald’s performance in the classic, “Sixteen Candles,” but of course, the acting is still unmatched.

Lara seems to find herself in a predicament when she develops feelings for the boy who lives next door. Josh Sanderson (Israel Broussard) also happens to be the two-year boyfriend of her older, more sophisticated and classier sister, Margo Covey, played by the previous “Pretty Little Liars” star, Janel Parrish.

As an attempt to control her emotions, Lara writes Josh a letter confessing her love, but she doesn’t write it on the intention of eventually mailing it. She writes it for herself, as most teens would do when trying to deal with the overwhelming sensation of a crush.

Lara’s introverted yet vivacious teenage character has a way of connecting with the audience, getting them to say, “Hey, she kind of reminds me of myself.”

After writing the heartfelt letter, she places it in a round blue box, amongst previous letters she has written to the past crushes she’s had. Chaos breaks into place when the letters are mysteriously mailed out and one of her former crushes (the James Dean of this film), Peter Kravinsky (Noah Centineo), approaches her.

Peter’s laid-back personality, Hollywood grin, and jock title have everyone falling head over heels, wishing they had a boyfriend just like him. His on-screen beauty is a big contributor to the amount of popularity the film has gained rather than the acting itself.

The jock and the introvert, sound familiar? The film may not have originality within its context, but what romantic comedy does now-a-days?

The overall plot of the film came off as a bit tacky and corny. After all, when does this type of situation occur? Expectations are unrealistic and have incoming freshman believing that relationships are really that easy, and mean girls are “so totally that mean.” The false reality within this film stops the movie from being great rather than just decent.

However, the emotions felt by the characters in the film did a phenomenal job at relating with its targeted audience. From engaging with not-so-nice teenagers to dealing with a lack of self-confidence, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before”, is a decent coming-of-age movie (with great ‘80s references) that will have 15-year-old’s pining for that unrealistic love.

 

3 out of 5 stars