I have a problem. Like my addiction to Nutter Puffs (if you don’t know – you should), I am not sure it’s one that I want to cure. I have sat and watched To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before upwards of 15 times (stop judging) and I want to watch it again.
Now, first let me say that I have been a fan of Jenny Han’s for what seems like forever. Her series The Summer I Turned Pretty is what made me fall in love with contemporary novels and reading. The way she writes is filled with passion, emotion, and angst. Everything is relatable: it feels like it could happen to any one of us.
It makes me feel at peace and full of hope. They are the kind of novels that you can read over and over again. They are the kind of novels that make you feel like someone understands you.
And maybe that is why I was nervous for the book to movie adaptation of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before. I think that when you love something so much, watching it be in the hands of people who could possibly not treasure it for all that it’s worth scares you.
At least it scared me.
But I have found that To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is a slice of perfection, and a reminder that adaptations can be a positive thing. But why is it that I, like so many of you can’t stop watching it? Well, I tried to break it down.
IT IS RELATABLE
Now I love supernatural stuff, I do. I watch everything comic book related or having to do with vampires, it seems. However, it feels like that’s all there is out there and I get frustrated with it. I miss the days of romantic comedies – hell, just romance. And not the romance that is always sex, sex, sex. But like there is nothing wrong with a good coming of age story. That’s what To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is – a coming of age story that reminds you what it is like to fall in love. It reminds you what it was like when things were complicated, but they weren’t so complicated that you couldn’t fix it. You could last through it.
IT’S A ROMANTIC COMEDY
I miss the days of romance. I miss the days where love was the story and finding your way there was what it was all about. All to often now, we don’t get that. We don’t even get close to that. Romance seems to be the underlying story of everything – but here it’s front and center. I think sometimes that we forget the innocence of love and are left with all the reasons that it’s overwhelming and frustrating. But here you are reminded that love can be something that isn’t the worst thing in the world. It’s not just a passing of time and a Hallmark Holiday.
LANA CONDOR
You know how when you didn’t know you needed something, but you are given it and you are like THAT’S WHAT HAS BEEN MISSING. Lana is that. She’s a brilliant actress with a mix of strength and vulnerability. She takes your breathe away with every scene she’s in. She makes you feel like you are watching your best friend. It’s rate that an actress gives you so much range and you don’t get sick of her. Most movies I can only watch 2-3 at the most. Lana’s brilliance as Lara Jean is something I don’t get sick of.
NOAH CENTINEO
Woah, woah, woah! I mean there isn’t a lot of people that I can handle saying that over and over, but when it comes to Noah – he charms you from beginning to end. That smile pulls you in. Now, I will be the first to admit that I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Fosters and his character. But watching him here, I see that this kid was meant to be a star. He’s meant to be that guy that we all fall head over feet for. He’s meant to be that guy that we all wish looked at us the way he looks at Lana.
FEELS – ALL OF THEM
Now I admit, this seems obvious. And maybe it is. But the truth is that it’s a different kind of feels. It’s the kind that doesn’t anger you, it’s the kind that brings you happiness.
And I will take that.
Have you seen To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before? What are your thoughts?
To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is currently streaming on Netflix.
