As my two sisters and I sat down on my couch to watch the third of Netflix’s “To All the Boys” rom-com trilogy, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever,” we hoped it would be as gripping as the first film because the second film had a terrible plot line. Unfortunately, it did not reach our expectations because it is cliched and long.
The film tells the story of Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky, who are in their senior year of high school and have been dating for a while. Their plan is to go to Stanford University. Unfortunately, Lara Jean gets rejected while Peter gets admitted and commits to the university.
Lara Jean later falls in love with NYU, but Peter incorrectly assumes that she will attend UC Berkeley and will attempt to transfer to Stanford after her first year. After Lara Jean tells Peter that she wants to go to NYU, they go through a rough patch as Peter thinks they won’t be able to maintain a long-distance relationship.
At the end of the film, the couple reunites after Lara Jean’s father and his girlfriend, Trina, get married, and it ends on a hopeful note with them going to their respective schools, optimistic that they can make their relationship work.
Though the film covers some important topics such as unhealthy relationships, it has a cliched script and is unrealistic, cringey and drawn-out.
The film could have been much shorter without segments such as the recreation of the bowling scene from the 1998 film “The Big Lebowski.”
The movie also fails to adequately portray the rigor of the admissions process for top-tier schools like Stanford or UC Berkeley. It never shows Lara Jean doing any sort of extracurricular activity or homework, yet viewers are supposed to expect that she can get into a prestigious school.
Both Peter and Lara Jean make bad decisions with their relationship. Peter is unsupportive of Lara Jean discovering what she wants in regard to her education, and Lara Jean isn’t any better as she tries to use sex as a way to cover her insecurities in their relationship.
That being said, the film does a phenomenal job highlighting their flawed relationship. For example, Lara Jean and Peter want to determine their futures based on each other, showing viewers that the couple is codependent. Lara Jean also fails to actively communicate with Peter and tell him about her rejection to Stanford, demonstrating that they are not upfront with each other.
Along with revealing their unhealthy relationship, the movie showcases Lara Jean and her family grieving her late mother. The family travels to Korea and finds Lara Jean’s parents’ love padlock — a lock that couples attach to a bridge or fence to symbolize their love. This moment is meaningful as it gives Lara Jean and her sisters a chance to say goodbye to their mother before they welcome Trina.
Although the trilogy is one of the stronger rom-coms on Netflix and covers some important topics, “To All the Boys: Always and Forever” affirmed my belief that the series should have ended after the first movie.