To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, A Review

By ANNE KWOK ‘21

August 2018 was the month of Asian-Americans in the media. Two days after “Crazy Rich Asians” was released to cinemas, a rom-com starring an Asian-American lead came out on Netflix. It’s an airbrushed, soft piano music, sweet gestures kind of movie. “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” about teenage Korean-American girl Lara Jean, is loosely based on the teenage years of author Jenny Han. Lara Jean (Lana Condor) is a hopeless romantic who has never been in a relationship. In the movie, she writes heartfelt, incredibly embarrassing love letters to all the crushes she’s ever had and hides all of the letters in a box in her room. Her little sister decides that Lara’s introvertedness needed some change, and mails out all the letters to their recipients. The twist–one of these letters is addressed to Lara’s older sister’s boyfriend, Josh. Desperate to save the situation, Lara impulsively kisses the school’s sweetheart, Peter Kavinsky, in front of Josh, initiating a series of events that lead to an inevitable love triangle.

The movie is a success, earning a 96% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a rapidly growing fanbase, and a huge following of the cast. However, the production of the movie had not always been smooth sailing. Jenny Han said in her New York Times Op-ed that "the interest (from production companies) died as soon as [she] made it clear the lead had to be Asian–American." Eventually, one production company shared her view that “the fact that the lead was Asian-American wasn’t seen as a liability.”

The film is groundbreaking in the sense that it opens up a new chapter for the representation of Asian minorities in entertainment. The movie reuses, but cleverly executes the rom-com tropes of “having no choice but to date”, “writing out a dating contract” and “escalating conflict between potential love interests 1 and 2.” It has an amusing plotline, with the perfect sprinkle of conflict to keep the audience on its toes, but it’s not too tense so that they can comfortably watch the story unfold. Everyone in the movie is kept real and believable, with many lovable characters, like Lara Jean’s little sister – annoying as all sisters are but a source of comfort when needed. My favorite part was the snippets of Asian culture on an American screen, like yoghurt drinks and the Korean dishes Lara’s caucasian father makes (or attempts to make). The movie has a 90’s feel that makes the setting seem very quaint and intimate, yet it also has modern elements in the plot, such as social media. From beginning to end, the movie was not just amusing, but also warm and comforting.

A curious aspect in the film is Lara’s Korean mother and her early death. Her mother wasn’t a focus, and it would have been interesting to see how her absence from Lara’s childhood shaped Lara. I would have also liked more development of Peter Kavinsky’s (Noah Centineo) character. Critics have said that “Centineo performs a type of compassionate male energy that is in short supply in movies at the moment.” In contrast to male leads in many others rom-coms, Peter has a certain element of vulnerability and gentleness that’s comforting to watch, and, furthermore, the actor’s chemistry with Lana Condor is undeniably convincing. Peter doesn’t fall for Lara Jean because of a sudden realization that she’s attractive, nor is he overwhelmed by the sudden but transient feelings of a teenager; the steady and logical development of attraction creates more substance in the couple’s relationship.

I personally appreciate that the core of the movie is not about a clash of cultures and, hence, normalizes a racial minority character in the lead. It shows that stories about identity don’t always have to be painful: they can be beautiful and mellow as well. Though the film mostly avoided racial topics, the scene where Lara and her sister are watching the racist character of “Long Duck Dong” in popular rom-com Sixteen Candles, makes a point that media can sometimes portray their minority audience as racist stereotypes for slapstick humor.

“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is, in every sense of the term, a good movie. It’s the kind of movie that you watch and go to sleep with a smile on your face, providing a similar feeling that warm mug of hot chocolate can on a pastel-tinted day. Lara Jean is a dreamy yet bold cinematic revolution, and in Jenny Han’s own words:

"There is power in seeing a face that looks like yours do something, be someone. There is power in moving from the sidelines to the center.”