Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky will graduate from High School soon.
Peter will go to Stanford University because he got accepted for a sports scholarship. Lara Jean plans to go there as well. The problem is, she got rejected.
LJ doesn't want to break his first boyfriend's heart, of course. She knows that the guy got his own issue to settle, like his dad trying to reconnect with him. And she doesn't want to burden him furthermore or, at least, disappoint him. So she tells him that she got accepted.
What else could she tell him anyway? Besides, they got it all planned out already. Once they are there together, they will be inseparable. That means there are no more goodbyes and curfews. After college, they will get married. They will buy a house and have children. Also, Lara Jean will become a successful author.
But that does not erase the fact that LJ lied to Peter. And she must tell him the truth before it gets worst.
The third installment of the "To All the Boys" series is the perfect sendoff to the two lovable characters. This final movie sees the arc of each character come to a close. Lara Jean and Peter have been the epitome of romance for Netflix and people who have read the book series.
As a movie, "To All the Boys: Always and Forever" is able to keep its romantic core. The couple is always a delight to see. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo are so compatible and comfortable with one another that they actually look like a real-life high school couple, complete with the needed youth, energy, and naïvety. If there is one sure thing that this franchise has done right, it's these two.
Even though the film feels like 115 minutes of fan service and a love letter to the franchise, it is the most distracted. Director Michael Fimognari focuses on the "love story" too much that it lost track of everything else.
Yes, "To All the Boys: Always and Forever" is a romantic movie, and it needs to be cheesy to work. But based on the narrative direction, this should not be a love story at all. It should be about LJ's emancipation and growth and not all about her relationship with Peter.
Lara Jean's relationship with herself should have been the center of this movie's attention. It needs more moments like that New York scene, where she starts to dream about her future.
Good thing that the film's third act manages to save a little of its value. It's probably the best ending that these characters deserve.
"To All the Boys: Always and Forever" wraps up a beloved franchise. It is always sad to say goodbye to likable characters, and the movie makes us feel that this a permanent adieu.
For what it's worth, I liked the film because it got the mood and feel right. I just wish that it's less about Peter and more about Lara Jean.
2/5
