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

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before

Watch it On: Netflix
Genres: Teen, Romantic Comedy
Maturity Level: PG-13
View on IMDB
Rating: ⋆⋆⋆⋆⋆

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Lara Jean Covey writes letters to all of her past loves, the letters are meant for her eyes only. Until one day when all the love letters are sent out to her previous loves. Her life is soon thrown into chaos when her foregoing loves confront her one by one.

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Disclaimer: I have not read the book.

This is the best high school movie I’ve seen since Mean Girls. I think it’ll definitely go down with Sixteen Candles, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Clueless as a teen classic.

The story was adorable and fun. While the idea of a pretend relationship to make people jealous isn’t exactly new, in this story it was fresh and sweet. Laura Jean’s obsession with romance novels was a nice touch, and I loved the stereotypical romance scene interludes she imagined herself in. I wish there had been more of them! I also think the narration added a lot to this movie, which was great because it’s hard to do well.

Lana Condor was great as Laura Jean. She was cute and sassy, and really nailed the shy, fearful teenager. I felt like I really got to know her, and that Laura Jean and I would have been best friends in high school. I also loved her relationship with her sisters, especially her younger sister, Kitty. It’s nice to see a movie for teens embracing the family relationships. And Laura Jean’s style was everything! She was retro but in a cute-as-a-button way that I don’t think I’ve really seen before.

The chemistry between Lana Condor and Noah Centineo was totally believable. There was a moment when a character said to Laura Jean something like “I can tell by the way he looks at you.” And Noah Centineo really did look at her that way, like she was the light in the darkness. It was heart-melting. They were heart-melting. It gave me all of the feels!

I really enjoyed the way the movie was cut. With all of the wide-shots of the city to fun, upbeat music, it was a clear throwback to 90s teen flicks. And the quick jumps from scene to scene, with lots of short little cuts kept the whole thing moving quickly. The tone of the film was light and fluffy, which made the occasional touching moments even sweeter.

My biggest criticism is that the movie barely touched on the friendship between Laura Jean and Josh. Considering she apparently had such strong feelings for him, and he claimed he wanted to be her friend so badly, I wish we could have seen more of that. I imagine that’s one of the ways the book is better than movie.

I adored this movie, and I think I’m going to have to read this entire book series next summer.