To All The Boys: Always and Forever just dropped on Netflix, but when it comes to a fourth film, it's not looking 100% hopeful, according to the people making it.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever Review: Netflix Teen Trilogy, Sealed With a Kiss To All the Boys: Always and Forever Review: Netflix Teen Trilogy, Sealed With a Kiss
Lara Jean has cleared her mind of other suitors and is focused on trying to get into the same college as Peter in this fan-friendly third (and final?) chapter.
Peter Debruge, provided by
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Director: Michael Fimognari
With: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, Anna Cathcart, Ross Butler, Madeleine Arthur, Emilija Baranac, Trezzo Mahoro, with Sarayu Blue, John
Corbett.
Running time: Running time: 115 MIN.
With “To All the Boys: Always and Forever,” Netflix wraps its epistolary teen-angst trilogy in such a way that those who’ve been following along since the beginning should appreciate: with a letter. What began as a high-concept high school rom-com has gently matured over two and a half years into a surprisingly low-drama look at the questions 21st-century teens ask themselv
that it could easily serve as a direct sequel to the 2018 original. With the rom-com dramatics behind them, high school seniors Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) are now firmly secure in their relationship and looking ahead to their plans for college. Their hope is to attend Stanford together him on a lacrosse scholarship, her to study English lit. But when Lara Jean is rejected by the school, that picture-perfect future is suddenly a lot more uncertain.
Always And Forever at first
seems to be setting up a contrived storyline in which Lara Jean hides her Stanford rejection from Peter, maintaining an elaborate ruse like their own fake-date origin story. Thankfully, the film swerves to a more emotionally honest conflict instead. As her senior year unfolds, Lara Jean begins to realize that maybe she should choose her collegiate future based on more than just being near her boyfriend, dreamy as he may be.
To All the Boys: Always and Forever.
Katie Yu/Netflix
As the closing credits scroll on
To All the Boys: Always and Forever, the third and final volume in Netflix’s sweet teen love trilogy, clips from all three films play in the background. And as they played, I found myself desperately trying to work out what it was that made the first entry in the trilogy 2018’s
To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, directed by Susan Johnson so much more compelling than the other two. Even in soundless 10-second clips, it was so much better than its successors that it hurt a little.