Netflix’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is a nod to romantic comedies that came before it — and people are already in love.
The streaming service, which seems game to launch a rom-com renaissance, on Friday released its latest offering, a charmingly sweet teen-centric film about a shy girl being forced out of her shell and finding love along the way.
The movie, which is based on Jenny Han’s 2014 YA novel of the same name (which kicks off a trilogy), centers around Lara Jean (Lana Condor), a half-Korean teenager brimming with feelings. When she has a crush on a boy and her emotions are too intense to bottle up, she writes a letter to the object of her affection. She then folds that letter into an envelope and addresses it to the boy she’s looking at like a heart-eyed emoji. But she never puts a stamp on these letters, and she definitely doesn’t mail them.
Instead, she keeps five hand-written confessions in a hatbox her late mother gave to her and hides them — much like she hides her true self.
That is, until her spunky little sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), decides to mail them out.
Romance and high jinks ensue.
The movie relies very much on familiar genre tropes set forth by directors like John Hughes, Cameron Crowe and Rob Reiner, and it executes them beautifully. Which makes sense ― Han is clearly a huge fan of ’80s teen movies.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” also contains references to classic teen films, including Hughes’ “Sixteen Candles.” But it is also unapologetic about calling out its successors (“I’m sorry, but isn’t this character, Long … Dong … Duk, like, kinda racist?” Lara Jean’s white boyfriend asks during a screening).
And speaking of our heroine’s beau: Loveable jock Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) — and his chemistry with Lara Jean — made quite the impact on audiences.
To see what people are saying — and to watch the full trailer — take a peek below.