‘To All the Boys: Always and Forever’ Review; Dir. Michael Fimognari (2021)

For those that have stuck with Lara Jean Covey’s tumultuous love life thus far, To All the Boys: Always and Forever is more of the same – for better or worse – closing off the trilogy of Netflix’s sleeper hits based on the acclaimed novels by Jenny Han with an earnest spring in its step.

It’s senior year of high school and Covey (Lana Condor)’s relationship with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) hasn’t been stronger. They have their whole future mapped out together, beginning with going to Stanford College together. But as Lara Jean starts to consider that Stanford may not work out, pondering her other options, she begins to realise that her future with Peter may not be the everlasting love story they first anticipated it to be. With decisions to make and prom night fast approaching, Lara Jean is forced to reconsider what it is she wants in life and whether Peter is a part of it or not.

Just like P.S I Still Love You, the script – this time penned by Katie Lovejoy – approaches its coming-of-age themes with a great deal of maturity. To say these films feel “authentic” would be missing the point entirely, but Lovejoy – and returning director Michael Fimognari – certainly try to wrap their sugarcoated idealism with wisdom for the younger audiences. It makes for an endeavour in which the characters grapple with their issues in a refreshingly coherent manner. There’s at least some logic underpinning the decisions they make which is nice to see from a film that could have easily felt contrived as some of these Netflix originals tend to be. Just like its predecessors, the sincerity and heart permeating Always & Forever make it a far more investing romcom than its counterparts.

It is much of the same though, for better or worse. If you weren’t taken by either the original or its sequel, you’re probably not the target audience for Always & Forever. I mean, if that’s the case then why are you watching it? You know you’re not going to like it. For those that have found themselves invested in Covey’s grand romantics though, much like myself, then this is a fitting conclusion to her story that brings the warmth and cheesiness you’ve come to expect from a To All the Boys title.

There isn’t a whole lot of drama propelling the narrative this time around so the conflicts are spread quite thin by the end (it would have benefited from being 90-minutes rather than 119-minutes), but it’s admittedly a joy watching these characters just have a real go of their last year as high-schoolers. Everything has been established at this point and Always & Forever just reaps the rewards of those sown seeds. Considering we’re in the middle of a soul-sucking pandemic, the starry-eyed optimism of Covey and her friends – an ensemble who have clearly found their groove with these characters – is a welcomed distraction. Funny, cute, quirky, and just knock-your-socks-off charming, Lara Jean Covey’s swan song is a bundle of joy lovingly crafted by a cast and crew having the time of their life.