On February 12 the “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” Netflix movie franchise came to a close with the third and final installment, “To All the Boys Always and Forever.” Millions of people ranging from young teen girls to adult women and even men of all ages who can appreciate a good rom-com tuned in to watch as Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky’s story came to the final chapter.
Long-term fans will remember when we first met the two who started fake dating in the first installment, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” just three years ago in 2018. If you haven't seen the movie yet, do yourself a favor and marathon all three. You’ll be ensured some laughs, tears, maybe a few cringey scenes, and a bopping soundtrack. And don’t forget some classic montage moments that will make you full of nostalgia for the cinematic high school experience you never had, full of pretty people and background music.
Now for the movie itself. Let me forewarn you, there will be spoilers ahead. So grab some popcorn and get watching if you haven’t already, and then come back. I’ll wait.
“Always and Forever,” the third and most recent film in the franchise, delightfully wrapped up the life of Lara Jean with the perfect bow on top. The movie opens with the Covey sisters in South Korea for spring break. There is a bittersweet family moment on a tower, and I’m adult enough to admit it made me tear up and want to call my mom. Of course there are amazing shots of delicious-looking food and a sassy Kitty who wears a necklace reading “feminist” throughout the film. Lara Jean and Peter, like any good high school senior couple, are planning to go Stanford together, but *gasp* Lara Jean is not accepted.
This is one of my problems with this movie. Peter Kavinsky has to be some kind of savant or lacrosse-playing prodigy to both get into Stanford and get a scholarship to boot, while Lara Jean doesn’t even get in at all. It feels fake to me, but I guess that’s just movie magic. When the couple is lovingly reunited, the audience gets to see the more awkward and cringey side of the charming Peter Kavinsky, including Peter in a sheet mask and a headband and asking how to braid Lara Jean’s hair. Also, to make this movie feel modern, the couple watches a movie on a laptop while sharing AirPods. When Lara Jean gets rejected from Stanford, she decides to lie to Peter and tell him she got in but ultimately confesses to him while on their senior trip to New York City. Peter is, of course, kind about the whole thing and comes up with a solution that she can transfer in for their sophomore year. They come up with a tentative plan for Lara Jean to go to Berkeley and drive to him on the weekends, despite her intense hatred of driving.
The next day, while the couple is on separate tourist trips around the city, Lara Jean and two of her friends somehow end up without a chaperone and at an NYU party on the rooftop of a building. They galavant around the city, which includes moving a couch via subway, which feels on brand for dumb college students, and then she has the moment. She falls in love with the city and NYU itself.
When they return from their NYC adventure, Lara Jean gets into NYU and decides to go there instead of Berkeley. After the weirdest bowling date where Peter kisses the bowling ball (which feels extra gross in times of COVID) and a cute prom scene, the couple breaks up. While Lara Jean’s dad is getting remarried, Peter has a heart-to-heart with his absentee father, and it is a sweet moment. Peter is hesitant to allow his father back into his life. But if his relationship with Lara Jean taught him anything it was that love is an active choice that requires effort. A lesson that needs to be remembered by all for all relationships.
After the wedding, Peter surprises Lara Jean with her signed yearbook and they share a final dance together to “their” song “Beginning Middle End” by Leah Nobel. At this point, I will admit, the tears were really rolling down my face. The movie ends with a graduation and the final shot of Lara Jean in her new NYU dorm room with a fresh lobbed off haircut.
I will admit that I am a sucker for a sweet, almost sappy rom-com. But “Always and Forever” does it right. It follows the formula of heartbreak, tears and cheesy moments filled with a hope for the future. This movie has a sweet message about family and love in general. Love is an active choice, Lara Jean reminds the audience. It takes effort and time and maybe even a love letter or two.