Always and… Never Again

Jenny Han’s trilogy of To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before should’ve remained a solo film. The first movie, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, had the best storyline out of the three, which is saying a lot itself. The movie was engaging and entertaining to watch. To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, the second movie, wasn’t as enjoyable, but it did meet my standards. It included a character named John Ambrose played by Jordan Fisher, who was a crowd favorite. Sadly, he did not reappear in the third and final movie. The third movie, To All the Boys: Always and Forever was simply uninteresting and boring. 

        Lana Condor, who played Lara Jean Song Covey, and Noah Centineo, who played Peter Kavinsky, seemed too old for the third movie, as she was 23 and he was 24. They portrayed characters who were about 16 or 17 years old. In the first movie, they looked more similar to the ages they were playing, but it slowly got worse with time. However, the acting was phenomenal. Kitty played by Anna Cathcart has incredible comedic timing and seemed to be the comic relief throughout the movie. Lana Condor is also just as amazing because she can be both funny and serious. Noah Centineo is not my favorite actor, but he didn’t bother me that much during the film.

        To sum up this movie, Peter and Lara Jean were trying to find a way to make their relationship work while pursuing interests outside of high school. Peter got into Stanford, while Lara Jean did not. It makes absolutely no sense that Peter, who had been portrayed as unacademic compared to Lara Jean, got into Stanford when she did not. Stanford is not an Ivy League school, however, it is basically one because of its high ratings and low selectivity rates. Lara Jean lied to Peter and told him she got accepted to Stanford. Who lies to their significant other about such an important decision like college? As you’ve guessed, that caused problems. On a school trip, Lara Jean fell in love with New York and found an interest in attending NYU, which is the college she ends up choosing in the end. They break-up because Peter realizes that distance will cause this soon anyway, but don’t worry because they obviously get back together at the very end. There was also a random wedding between Lara Jean’s dad and neighbor, prom, and a trip to Korea thrown in the mix of chaos throughout this movie. It honestly felt like B-roll at this point. 

        Although, I do appreciate the cultural recognition of Lara Jean’s Korean heritage in the movie. Their trip to Korea highlights important aspects of the culture, like their food and significant locations. 

        The plot of the third movie was missing entirely, or was at least extremely dull to me as a viewer. It seemed as if the movie was only made because there were three books, and it should have been made to wrap up the series. Personally, I think the creators could’ve taken the concept of the third movie and added it to the end of the second. This would’ve saved them enormous amounts of money and me two hours of my time. There should have never been a third movie because the first two were enough.

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