By Cynthia Ayala
“A teenage girl’s secret love letters are exposed and wreak havoc on her love life.” —IMDB
This is one of those movies that kind of just sneaks up on you. Okay, if you follow this blog at all, you’ll notice my tastes tend to be more in favor of action rather than contemporary and romantic. However, sometimes a girl must be a girl. I have a few films that just stick out for me and this is one of them. More to the point this is not a book I would pick up at the bookstore because it’s not what I normally read. But I think I’m going to get my hands on a copy just so I can read the whole series. That being said, I’m gonna say it: I loved this movie.
Lara Jean is hilarious. She’s a mousey kind of girl who has her little bubble of friends and family, a bubble she’s quite content to live in. Immediately this makes her incredibly relatable. And now her crushes know that she has or had a crush on her which makes her life incredibly complicated and embarrassing. I think most people can relate to that. And now to protect her relationship with her sister she has to forge a fake relationship with one of her previous crushes, which only complicates her head and her heart. Isn’t love funny that way.
That’s part of the charm of the movie, the fact that on some levels yeah it might be another teen movie, but on some other levels, it’s not. It’s fun, lighthearted but deals with the complexities of a relationship, both familial and otherwise. Relationships are complicated which is what this movie addresses, and being in high school, having all these feelings is even more complicated. It’s not sugar-coated and painted in rose-colored glasses. There is a realism to the film and the storytelling that makes the film so compelling. I loved it because of it. It was funny, it was relatable and heartwarming all at once, and really is just one of those feel-good movies on a late night.
I’ll say this. Yeah, it most definitely has those cheesy moments, but they come off so well that they don’t even feel that cheesy and they are warm and fuzzy. God, sometimes I can be such a girl. But anyway, story aside, the acting was amazing. This was a great cast who had great chemistry with one another and fit their parts so well. They were great to watch on the screen and to watch interact with one another. This is one of those films that deserves a sequel. (★★★★☆ | A)
Don’t forget to follow me on Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Google+ | LinkedIn to stay tuned for future reviews.
—Film Credits—
Directed by Susan Johnson
Written by Sofia Alvarez
Based on To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Starring: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Andrew Bachelor, Trezzo Mahoro, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Israel Broussard & John Corbett
Rating | Length | Genre: TV-14 | 1h 39min | Drama, Romance
Distributed by Netflix