There's something about Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean chemistry that makes you want to go back to high school again, and give a second chance to that reader in the corner, the football player whom you quickly judged to be dimwitted. You want to give them a second chance only to see if anything like To All The Boys ever happens in real life. The saga respects old school romance even in the age of Twitter and Instagram.
With To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Netflix ended its popular Valentine's Day love story release, which originally started with a mutually agreed contract between Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky. What started as a high school fake romance, ended up in a real, mature drama, involving real problems and how this power couple learns to respect each other's future while maintaining a long-distance relationship.
You get the hint of what's coming in the initial narrative sequence itself, where the Covey sisters enjoy in Korea's Seoul, while Peter sleeps in North America. The non-diegetic element remains that the couple just didn't know yet that is how their future will be in the next four years of college.
The drama begins when Lara Jean Covey does not make it to Stanford but Peter Kavinsky cracks his way into the University. The bigger problem begins when they go on a trip to New York and Lara falls in love with the city. Peter, who had been faithful in the relationship since the very beginning found the city to be its tough competition. Each time Lara drops a hint of their days of separation coming nearer, Peter's eyes swell with pain. He wants to grab hold of Lara but not to the point where she suffocates and gets naked only to reassure Peter that their relationship will remain a memorable one. It's what Lara said in her own words, 'We are a terrible rom-com couple' but that is what made them both stand out.
The biggest attraction in To All The Boys: Always and Forever isn't what becomes of Lara and Peter but the support she gets from all of her companions, including Jen, who managed to bring back sophistication in their once toxic friendship. Although, she has a tough time accepting that Lara has moved on and chosen to befriend other people who do not exactly fit the 'normal people category' in high school, but that has always been the nicest thing about Lara Jean Covey. She never makes passes a judgment like Jen.
The Netflix film was expected to close the loop but in its pink couch crazy ending of letters, the saga might just never end here.
Ratings: 2.5 stars
