To all the Netflix Originals I’ve loved before

BY: BAILEY A.

Photography: Fair Use

This summer, Netflix came out with a number of “chick flicks” and “rom-coms” and the media is eating it up. One of the most popular of these Netflix Original Films is To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by director Susan Johnson. Starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo, this film follows two high school students whose “pretend” love becomes all too real.

Lara Jean (Condor), the lead female protagonist, has a habit of writing love letters when she has a crush so big that she doesn’t know what else to do. She addresses these letters to her crushes although she never intends on sending them. After the letters somehow get out, Peter Kavinsky (Centineo), one of five love letter “non-recipients”, comes to Lara Jean with a proposal. Recently getting out of a long-term relationship, Peter suggests that he and Lara Jean could pretend to be a couple, intending to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.

What’s refreshing about this film, and sets it apart from the others in its genre of teen rom-coms, is that the lead character, being a woman of color, is a minority. Lara Jean is a Korean-American teen, and many people appreciate and respect this film for it’s representation, as we usually see minorities in side-character roles.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is a movie that leaves you with a smile on your face. Yes, it’s cheesy and somewhat predictable, but it’s pure, and it’s sweet! It gives you a bubbly feeling, enough to make you blush, and brings out your inner hopeless-romantic. It’s the kind of movie that you could watch over and over again and never lose the feeling of when you first watched it. Condor does a wonderful job of making Lara Jean relatable, letting the audience see her quirky and not-so-perfect side.

The film definitely gives off an 80’s rom-com vibe. In fact, it alludes several times to the 1984 movie titled Sixteen Candles. Even if you’re not a “chick-flick” type of person, you won’t be disappointed after watching this film. This film has the potential to be not only the best teen romance story of this summer, but of this decade.