To All the Boys: Always and Forever
In summer of 2018 I sat down and watched a surprisingly charming Rom Com titled To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before . It was a fun, quirky film that followed a girl named Laura Gene Covey (Lana Condor) who is a hopeless romantic as she finds an unlikely love with the handsome jock Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo). Don’t get me wrong the first movie was a rom-com though and through, it was predictable and cheesy and at moments almost cringy but there was something very charming in the story, the cast of side characters helped built a grounded world around this love story and visually it was just a lovely movies to watch. It has pretty much everything you could want in a YA book turned netflix film. Flash forward to 2021 and we have reached the final movie of this romantic trilogy, To All the Boys: Always and Forever. There have been many ups and downs for Laura Gene and Peter through the two movies (Team John Ambrose forever). But these two kids have stuck it out and now that high school is ending and they are trying to figure out what the future holds for them. They have a plan, both attend Stanford where Peter has a full ride lacrosse scholarship, only problem is Laura Gene hasn’t gotten in yet. Very early on we find out that she hasn’t gotten in and so their college plans are ruined, their biggest fear of doing long distance is realized as Laura Gene contemplates NYU which is on the other side of the county. Also there is still the senior trip, senior prom, and Laura Gene’s Dad’s wedding to deal with. With so much drama potential one would think this final instalment would be a climactic ending to this popular series, but sadly it was a let down. Like the first movie, the cast of side characters were still a wonderful addition to the story, grounding it, and really giving the story depth and heart, also it was a beautifully designed movie, the colors and styles were on point start to finish, but that was it, Laura Gene and Peter’s relationship left me confused and uncertain they should be together at all.
The journey of Laura Gene and Peter Kavinsky is a complex one, but can be boiled down to Peter trying really hard to be loving and Laura Gene being uncertain and insecure. While this has been the care for the entire franchise, it was particularly highlighted this time. Peter was nothing butsupportive and loving as Laura Gene didn’t get into Stanford, even though she kind o f lied and said she did, but he didn’t mind (which was confusing), he was just worried how she was doing with the rejection. Peter also was supportive of her going to Burkely which was an hour away and promises to drive to see her every weekend and try to make that really fun for both of them. Then Laura Gene makes the executive decision to go to NYU on the other side of the county. Peter is still supportive, now he isn’t thrilled about that last choice, but tells Laura Gene that it is her life and she needs to do what is best for her. But in a crazy twist, that response somehow makes Peter the bad guy. Laura Gene starts to feel Peter distance himself from her after she essentially blows up his life plans and triggers all of his abandonment issues that they have been not so subtly telling us about the whole movie. They break up for a short time because Peter has a valid fear of them not being able to handle a long distance relationship, but ultimately Peter apologizes and they get back together. Here lies one of the biggest issues with the movie, I cannot tell you why Peter is apologizing. I am not sure what he did wrong, he was always sportive, loving, understanding and all of this after he was lied to a few times and Laura Gene trying to have sex with him to keep the relationship together. He just wanted out, he was trying to be mature and pull the plug because he thought they weren’t going to make it, but he never was mean, hurtful or inconsiderate. Really Laura Gene spent most of the movie upset with Peter for having his own feelings and thoughts which ultimately he apologized for so they are fine now. This installment of the story really showed how little personality and character Peter has and has had throughout the series. The character was not written to be a real person, he was written to be the perfect boyfriend, and it was boring.
Laura Gene’s friends and family are a bright stop in the movie. Her little sister Kitty, her soon to be step mom Trina, and her Dad make up this delightful family that I wish were in the story more. At one point right after Laura Gene and Peter break up her sister Kitty comes in and tells Laura Gene that on a scale of one to ten she will miss her a twelve when she goes to college. That moment, not the break up is the moment my eyes started to tear up, which probably says a lot about how little I cared about Laura Gene and Peter as a couple and how wonderful the sister dynamic in this movie is. .
There is also a very problematic instance where Laura Gene decides that she is going to lose her virginity after prom. Peter has been distant and she wants to sleep with him to fix it and make sure they stay together. Peter ultimately stops her and refuses to seep with her under those circumstances and that is when they break up. But that mindset about sex is never brought up again and she never apologized for her actions. The fact this is just casual moment in the story is disappointing and really perpetuates as false idea about the propose of sex and relationships and also continues to help normalize teen sex in our culture. After Peter apologizes for… having feelings? They do sleep together and while very little is shown, it feels forced and like the audience should be overjoyed that they finally fix everything so they can sleep together, but they haven’t really fixed their problems.
Ultimately they go to their far off colleges with a promise to make it work, but honestly it probably doesn't. That is the sad truth to the whole series, Laura Gene and Peter don’t work. So it is hard to invest in something that is ultimately doomed. It is disappointing because the actors have a lot of chemistry and there was so much potential for this series to become a love story that young teens aspire to, but they end up being that high school relationship that most people look back on and regret. There are love stores and teen romances that are worth spending time on, but To All the Boys : Always and Forever isn’t one of them. Maybe just watch the first one and pretend the rest of the series doesn’t exist.
Objectionable Content
Language: They periodically sprinkle in a Sh*t or D*mn just to make sure it is not a family film.
Sexual Content: Laura Gene is teased for not having sex yet, she and Peter almost have sex and we see her start to sick her hand down his pants, they do have sex and we see him kissing her neck and then they are snuggling presumably naked afterwards though we only see from her shoulders up. Trina tells Laura Gene to go enjoy her hot boyfriend.
Violence: None
Objectionable Content: There is some lying and sneaking around parents
