11 | The "To All The Boys I've Loved" Saga
In this issue: To All The Boys I've Loved Before, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, To All the Boys: Always and Forever, and XO, Kitty.
Dear reader,
Did I really anticipate that my second return-from-the-dead issue would be writing reviews on the To All The Boys franchise? No. I hadn’t planned on getting sucked into a binge spiral just because of XO, Kitty’s release…
But here we are.
To All The Boys I've Loved Before
Genre: Rom-Com
Language: English
Gist: Lara Jean Covey’s love letters are anonymously posted to five of her different crushes. When Peter Kavinsky, one of the recipients, proposes a fake relationship, LJ accepts it to ward off the consequences of the letters. But what if she ends up falling in real love with Peter?
Review: The first movie is your classic rom-com — a bit mellow and slow in its tone but luckily enough it doesn’t try to be too convoluted, nor does it run for too long. What I loved about these movies1 is the delicateness of their visual language. Every frame is calculated, perfected. The aesthetics of it redefine falling in love, allowing the audience to enter that fantasy that Lara Jean herself often traverses.
The second thing that I really liked was the dialogues, especially scenes that were more long and conversation-based… where you really felt it was two real-life people having a genuine heart-to-heart.
SYWT? It’s an iconic pop-cultural setpiece. You have to watch it at least once.
To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You
Genre: Rom-Com
Language: English
Gist: What comes after Happily Ever After? A love triangle, of course! Or at least, that’s what’s in store for Lara Jean, when her former crush, John Ambrose, re-enters her life and rocks her relationship with Peter.
Review: The second movie definitely had more potential with the love triangle angle, and the added tension of Peter and Gen’s continuing friendship, the “what ifs” with John, and LJ not trusting whether she and Peter belong together.
While most of it worked, I feel like the audience already knew from the get-go who LJ is going to choose, which kind of made the whole movie pointless. They should’ve played into the John Ambrose chemistry more and given him a fighting chance.
SYWT? This is my least favorite of all the movies. If you too aren’t inclined on watching it, you can definitely skip this one and go straight to the third movie — you won’t be missing much!
To All the Boys: Always and Forever
Genre: Rom-Com
Language: English
Gist: After weathering all storms, Lara Jean and Peter finally want to live their happy ending by going to Standford University. Except, LJ has a change of heart and decides to go to NYU which is 3,000 miles away from Peter.
Review: Surprisingly, I liked Always and Forever the best! It was much more dynamic and played with enough uncertainty to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. Plus, I loved seeing Seoul and New York, the latter of which is always the perfect setting for a love story.
Always and Forever was the big finale to the franchise and they wanted to go off with a bang, so you can clearly see there was no expense or effort spared. For fans who have been ardently following the series from its inception, this movie will be just like a love letter they’ve been waiting to receive in the mail.
SYWT? *Nods like Lara Jean does.*
XO, Kitty
Genre: Rom-Com
Language: English
Gist: Kitty, the youngest of the Song Covey sisters, travels across the world to study with her long-distance boyfriend, Dae, in Korea. In the midst of uncovering her mom’s past, cultural differences, and high school drama, Kitty is learning that falling in love is not as easy as it seems.
Review2: This show is as confused as a teenager in love can be. We started off with a considerable number of plot points which simply kept branching out without giving the audience any satisfying result. Did I get invested in the characters? Sure, the kids are sweet and interesting. But the storylines they’re put in will make you feel like you’ve just gotten off a rollercoaster with a sick stomach.
I hate that the show does not have any similarity to To All The Boys’ visual language and feels so disconnected from it. The total absence of LJ and Margot also seemed so off3. In the three above movies, LJ and Margot have been super close to Kitty, so there’s no way they would’ve let their little sister be in distress.
My last but biggest disappointment is the show’s treatment of Kitty. She has always been such a fun character in the movies and to see her get a downgraded story in her own show is so saddening.
SYWT? This is a hard pass from me. I can see how it can be entertaining for an HSMTMTS4-watching 13-16 age group. But beyond that, this show may not be most people’s speed.
Once again, I totally did not expect making a comeback with this franchise. But you know, when lightning strikes… just make use of the opportunity.
Here’s the section where I once again apologize for not being prompt with my newsletter issues. Work has been hectic, but I will aim to get at least one issue out every month. I have been working on an Apple TV-themed one, so here’s to having that wheeze into your inboxes soon!
What is your opinion on this franchise? Should XO, Kitty be renewed for S2? Should there be more To All The Boys spinoffs? (We all know there’s none on Margot!) Tell me in the comments 😉
Before I go:
Have you ever wondered why tech elites wear plain, boring clothes? Here’s a nice insight into it.
If you’d like to read the previous issues, here’s a link to SYWT’s archive.
Looking for any title in particular? Cue the database — This has the list of movies/TV shows covered so far with ratings and links to the newsletters they were reviewed in.
What’s stuck in my head5:
XO,
sal.
Other than Noah Centinoa’s sunshine smile.
Oh, I have strong feelings about this one.
I understand that getting Lana Condor and/or Janel Parrish to guest star must’ve been difficult. But man, it hurt the narrative so much.
High School Musical: The Musical: The Series.
Come on, this song is synonymous with To All The Boys!