Movie Review: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before

A modern marvel of summer time film is the abundance of romance movies. These romantic films target anyone from teens to adults allowing the viewers to freely live outrageous and fun love lives from the comfort of a screen.

From box office hits like Crazy Rich Asians to Netflix masterpieces like the Kissing Booth, people are given a form of entertainment that captures their hearts and minds alike. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is certainly no exception to this rule.

Susan Johnson’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a beautiful film which includes many of our favorite young hollywood actors.

Taking a look at the film, one will begin to notice quite a few familiar faces. These faces consist of X-Men: Apocalypse’s Lana Condor playing Lara Jean Covey, The Fosters’ Noah Centineo playing Peter Kavinsky, and The Bling Ring’s Israel Broussard playing Josh Sanderson.

This movie’s plot holds a particular focus on the protagonist Lara Jean Covey. Within this movie, we’re sent on a journey with Lara who writes secret, unsent letters to all of her crushes. In a surprising turn of events, these letters get delivered to those they were written for. Each of the boys confronts her about her deeply emotional and quite personal letters.

One of these recipients happens to be her older sister’s boyfriend, Josh. When confronted by Josh about the letter, Lara Jean panics and kisses Peter. This is comical as he was also confronting her about the letter he received. She kisses Peter in an effort to convince Josh that she was actually with Peter.

Things escalate and soon, Peter and Lara Jean find themselves in a contractually agreed upon fake relationship. This relationship consists of watching movies, no kissing, and attending parties. Lara Jean is desperately trying avoid confronting Josh, and Peter attempts to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.

The last deal on the contract is the ski trip. Within the movie, this trip is notorious for being the highest rate of lost virginities for the school. Lara Jean agrees to this because there is no way the couple could last that long… right?

The movie shows promise by talking about divorce, racism, sexism, love– platonic, romantic and familial, and even death in light, humorous ways. It effectively humanizes the characters to make them relatable. By making the characters relatable, the story becomes a more personal experience. When the characters cry, the viewer feels the need to cry.

The actors’ portrayals of their characters is also impeccable to the point that it seems the character was written for the actor, rather than the other way around.

This movie also has the capacity to make an individual wonder if the romantic sparks that ensue within this film are exclusive to the film.

This story is perfect for a night in with friends or a solo adventure. It touches base on heavy topics and displays an array of colorful characters, personalities, and emotions.

I have a strong feeling that this movie will be an addition to the timeless canon of movies that we all adore. This canon consists of Dirty Dancing, Grease, Saturday Night Fever, Pretty Woman and more recently classics such as Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist, The Notebook, and many more. To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is one of the best movies I’ve watched in a long time.

This movie is essentially a cute addition to the “Chick Flick” genre. However, this does not mean that one has to be a woman to appreciate it. It’s a movie for sentimental hearts and reignites one’s belief in romance.