What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
Rated:
TV-14
Directed By:
Susan Johnson
Starring:
Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Janel Parrish, John Corbett, Anna Cathcart, Andrew Bachelor, Israel Broussard. See full list here.
IMDB Synopsis:
A teenage girl’s secret love letters are exposed and wreak havoc on her love life.
This is a terrible synopsis so I posted the GoodReads one below!
Based On the Book:
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
Read my review of the book from FOUR years ago :)
GoodReads Synopsis:
What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them… all at once?
Sixteen-year-old Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control.
Review:
I was counting down the days until this movie premiered on Netflix and, of course, I watched it the first day. I’m not sure if they’re putting out physical copies of anything that comes out on Netflix but I am so buying this movie if that happens.
I read this book over four years ago, when it came out. I wasn’t originally a Jenny Han fan but I am always giving authors more chances and I remember reading this book and loving every single moment of it and the rest of the series. When it was announced that this would be a Netflix movie, I was so ready and I will say that it was totally worth the wait.
First off, let’s talk about the importance of the representation in this movie. When is the last time we saw an Asian American teen girl as the main character in a movie? I’ll tell you. Never. NEVER. So seeing someone as awesome as Lana Condor playing Lara Jean was so phenomenal. She was beautiful and hilarious and she did such a fantastic job portraying Lara Jean. Lara Jean is quirky and fun and adorably stumbling around, trying to figure things out and Lana does a great job at bringing that to the screen. Seeing three Asian American girls on screen made me really happy. I’m ready to see more Mexican girls – of course – but god, representation in every way makes me a happy little camper.
This movie is seriously adorable and such a great romantic comedy. I had feeling, as I was watching it, that they were going to have a different end in the movie than the book but I was honestly okay with that. I really think it only made sense to change the ending. But it was seriously so cute. There were moments where I literally couldn’t help the dorky smile that was spread across my face. It was just so…adorable and quirky and romantic and SWEET. I honestly enjoyed it so much. I thought there was something innocent and refreshing about watching the sweet story between Lara Jean and Peter. So many teen movies and shows that I watch are so raunchy and dirty and dark nowadays, which is fine, but it just felt nice to have a funny and cute rom-com again.
Side note: Noah Centineo is so adorable and cute and I kept staring him. I couldn’t figure out why I found him so freaking adorable and there was a particular scene that made him look totally like Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez from The Sandlot and that guy was basically was my sexual awakening as a young impressionable girl. So I figured out that Noah looked like him aaaaaand yeah it all made sense again.
Lastly, what I loved about this movie, what I had loved so freakin much about the book and I was so glad they made important in the movie, was the relationship between the Covey sisters, Lara Jean and Margot and Kitty. I have two sisters as well and there is something unbreakable about the bonds that you have with your sisters. The way you take care of yourself and do things for each other, the way that you talk to each other and spend time together. The Covey sisters do so much for each other because their mother has died and their father is there and does the best he can, of course, but you need that female influence and me and my sisters were so very much like that. My favorite parts of the movie, easily, were the times that the sisters were together, having a moment, whether it was funny or serious or emotional or what not. At the end of the book, that relationship is the most important thing and I’m so glad I got to see it in the movie!
Rating:
5 out of 5 Stars
**********
Support us on Patreon for only $1 a month to gain access to monthly exclusive interviews, ARC and signed book giveaways, reviews for books I DIDN’T like and more by following the link here.
