Netflix is on a roll; with the streaming service reigning king as the new platform for stand-up comedy, it also keeps churning out romantic comedies, much to the delight of its many subscribers. On Friday, the streaming giant released “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” which stars Lana Condor (“X-Men: Apocalypse”) as Lara Jean Song Covey, a 16-year-old girl who copes with “intense” crushes by writing love letters to five boys she never plans to send out.
But of course, like any romantic comedy, love can’t happen without a little drama and mix-ups. All five letters get mailed out and Lara is forced to confront her feelings. Making a classic rom-com move, Lara Jean pretends to date Peter (Noah Centineo) — one of the subjects of her letters— who has a motive of his own: making his ex-girlfriend jealous.
Since its release, the movie has been getting all sorts of buzz with people taking to social media to gush over the actors, the storyline and more.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is adapted from Jenny Han’s YA novel of the same name, which was published in 2014. Han’s novel became a New York Times bestseller, which further led to the well-reviewed sequel: “P.S. I Still Love You.”
The movie adaption, directed by Susan Johnson, has been getting rave reviews. It currently holds a 94 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Vox says it “might be the best teen romance of the decade” while Vulture dubbed it a “sweet and savvy film.”
More than that, the lead character is Asian-American. But having an Asian-American actress play the part was no small feat. As Han recalled in an op-ed for the New York Times, there was interest in adapting her novel even before it was released, but that “the interest died as soon as I made it clear the lead had to be Asian-American.”
Netflix made a big move, but it paid off immensely as viewers love the witty, sweet teen romance.
By: Matinee Kramer
