Podcast: https://anchor.fm/amber-wu/episodes/To-All-the-Boys-Always-and-Forever-Review-ek1tsk

Transcript:

Welcome to my podcast. This is Amber. Today, we will be discussing the third and final installment of the To All the Boys film series. 

[Intro music] 

Sweet. Closure. Predictable. These are some of the descriptions that make up the final installment of the series, titled “To All the Boys: Always and Forever”. 

After a year and a half of waiting for fans, the last rom-com film of the beloved series was released on February 12, bringing a full circle closure for fans and audiences alike, bidding main protagonist Lara-Jean and her world goodbye. 

Although the amelioration of the third film from the second was clearly displayed, the film was overall way too predictable, prohibiting excitement and surprisement to be played in the duration of the film. 

[Music] 

The film explores Lara-Jean’s story in a more mature setting as the plot no longer focuses on love triangles. As a senior, Lara-Jean is forced to make her decisions about her future when  gets rejected by her and her boyfriend Peter’s dream school. The audience watches her navigate through relationship turmoils and inner-conflicts as she decides between love and what she truly wants for herself. 

Most seniors in relationships would relate to the issues and conflicts that were played out between Lara-Jean and Peter as they met obstacles related to long distance and separation that interfered with their relationship throughout the course of the movie. 

Although the movie attempts to break away from the well-known love triangle plots, the film was way too predictable in terms of the solution. Personally, I was not surprised with the ending as I expected the two protagonists to once again make their ways towards each other and reunite. The title, “Always and Forever,” also gave out the ending to the audience, which made the whole film duller than what was intended. 

I was also very disappointed when the movie did not feature the two rejected love interests from the past two films — Josh and John Ambrose. If the two characters were part of the storyline for this movie, it would have helped make the film more interesting by sprinkling more drama and tension. 

[Music] 

Even though the coming of age film was foreseeable, it allowed their younger audience to reflect on decision-makings on their future, permitting them to understand that they should be confident in making their own decisions despite what their partners or people they are close to believe. 

Overall, the film was a cherry on top for the franchise, but was flawed in terms of being too predictable in their conclusion.