Local Views: We React to ‘To All The Boys: Always and Forever’

The final “To All the Boys” film is NYU propaganda at its finest.

Morgan Pryor
NYU Local

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Screencap of Lara Jean, Christine, and Gen at an NYU party, with subtitles where Christine says “NYU scores mad points in men.” An NYU Local logo is on the head of another partygoer, who is saying “wtf.”
Graphic by author.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, we’ve been gifted (or cursed?) with the final installment in Netflix’s To All the Boys trilogy, To All the Boys: Always and Forever. It’s hard to believe that it was three years ago we first saw Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky’s (played by Lana Condor and Noah Centineo) romance come to life. The first film was a smashing success: a fresh take on the classic fake dating trope with charming leads, it checked all of the boxes for a near-perfect rom-com. To All The Boys P.S. I Still Love You, however, couldn’t keep the momentum of the first, its charm all but gone; the film’s underwhelming attempt at the love triangle trope made us root for Jordan Fisher’s John Ambrose rather than Centineo’s lukewarm Kavinsky (who, spoiler alert, LJ chooses in the end).

Always and Forever picks up during the second semester of LJ’s senior year of high school. She and Peter are every bit the “perfect” couple; she even has made all of her college plans according to Peter’s. LJ is convinced that their relationship hinges on her getting into Stanford, where Peter already has been accepted. However, after a school trip to New York and visit to NYU (“the city is the campus” is uttered unironically), she begins to rethink her future. Naturally, miscommunication and other problems ensue.

Several Local editors and writers weighed in on Noah Centineo’s frightening dance moves, if the film is a worthy conclusion to the trilogy, and the obnoxious amount of NYU in the film. (Warning: spoilers ahead.)

What is your sentence-long review?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: It was cute, but there was too much NYU.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: I was expecting more of a girl power moment.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: Why does she keep loving boys, someone stop her.

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: This was just two long hours of Noah Centineo being annoying as hell and NYU being almost as annoying.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: A cute, fluffy rom-com for tweens about sweet, sweet college propaganda.

What was the best part of the movie?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: My favorite part about the movie was seeing the dad remarry *smiling tear emoji*. Everything about it was just gorgeous (honestly, this movie gets a 12/10 for the visuals in general).

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: When the girls get together to move the pink sofa back via subway. It felt like the beginning of Lara Jean’s shift in mindset from high school girl to ‘future independent writer’ if you will.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: The best part definitely has to be when she gets rejected from Stanford and her life is RUINED!! Cue: the bad Spice Girls cover. This part broke my brain. Like she thinks she’s not going to get married or something because of Stanford? And then suddenly her friends are there, and one of them looks 12 but they are all adults? Holy shit. The FaceTime NYU pitch was so scary, Lara Jean is a BITCH. But also why is her friend so horny for the Bobcats? Girl doesn’t go to NYU…

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: The best part was probably the Seoul sequence towards the beginning. It was a fun little montage, and the bit with their family finding her mom’s lock that she left on the railing was sweet. The dynamic between the sisters and their dad is definitely the best out of all the other character combos. Bonus: Peter Kavinsky was nowhere to be found during this bit (besides a short FaceTime call).

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: The color palette, visuals, and soundtrack stand out to me to be one of the carriers of the franchise in general. They perfectly capture the late 2010s and their constant use of smartphones and retail store hits really ground us in their reality. But my favorite part from this movie was the “making” montage where she has scrapbook paper and miscellaneous craft items everywhere, hinting at a book or art piece for Peter, yet she just gives him a box with stuff.

Worst part?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: The plot was eerily similar to my senior year of high school, so I spent a lot of the movie having flashbacks *shudder*. But when Peter told Lara Jean that apparently she didn’t love him enough, I was ready to throw something at my TV. That is so horrible.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: Not breaking up with Peter.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: “NYU SCORES MAD POINTS IN MEN” rooftop party with the shitty indie music act and the protagonist like getting horny? While watching the girl sing? But it leads to NOTHING. Let Lara Jean be GAY.

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: The lack of communication and trust between LJ and Peter irked me; though both of these things were there in P.S. I Still Love You, this time it seemed 100% worse and I couldn’t stand it. The whole movie could’ve ended in five minutes if they had an honest conversation.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: The entire conversation after their prom was PAINFUL to watch. “So what, you want to have sex with me because you’re feeling insecure?” Also, LJ’s prom hair was reminiscent of the Bump It commercials.

This movie was without a doubt NYU propaganda. What did you think of NYU’s depiction in this movie?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: I am getting the feeling I will never escape NYU’s grasp… and I’m tired. The comment about NYU boys “scoring mad points” is not it. But I will say, seeing the shots of the city was bittersweet, especially since I’m spending my last semester across the country at home.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: I kept repeating “the city is my campus ❤” to myself jokingly. I definitely think teen movies should make more of an effort to stray away from NYU (and/or any college/university) propaganda.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: I’m sorry but this girl has way too much of a social life for an NYU freshman HOWEVER the people depicted in this movie do definitely seem low vibrational energy e-nuff to be NYU kids. I wanted to vomit anytime someone said something about NYU and FALLING IN LOVE WITH MANHATTAN!!!!!! and ~fate~

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: When I heard the words “the city is the campus” while they stood in Washington Square Park, I knew this would be one of the most annoying movie depictions of NYU I’ve ever seen. And LJ’s “dorm room”??? Please tell me what freshman dorm is that huge and has exposed brick. False advertising.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: College parties DO have live bands and ARE held on rooftops in Brooklyn, you’re so right!

One question you had during or after viewing?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: Why was Lara Jean the one who was pressured to change her college plans? Stanford is not the only college with a lacrosse team. Alternatively: Why didn’t she choose John Ambrose in the last movie?

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: What dorm is Lara Jean living in? Will her and Peter actually make their relationship last long distance?

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: How much did Andy Hamilton pay for this? Also how old are all these people?!

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: Where did John Ambrose and what’s his name from the first movie (Josh?) go? Who thought having Noah Centineo dance was a good idea?

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: When will the inevitable fourth movie come out? Four years? I’m guessing whenever the nostalgia for the mid to late 2010s kicks in. Also it will probably be a continuation of the Kitty romance plot! Another question I had was, will they actually last long-distance? Sure Lara Jean is great at writing and keeping in contact (her relationship with her sister is a great example), but will Peter ALSO write her letters? Maybe he’ll just continuously send her contracts.

How does it compare to the previous two installments?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: Objectively, it was probably better than the second one but not as good as the first. But between my high school flashbacks and the NYU propaganda, it was probably my least favorite viewing experience.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: My least favorite out of the three, but the soundtrack and visuals made it enjoyable. Also enjoyed the set in Korea aspect in the beginning of the film.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: I have not seen them.

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: This movie had some of the charm of the first in the beginning (before Peter Kavinsky and NYU ruined it) and is better than the second (I miss Jordan Fisher, though).

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: I said it earlier, but I would definitely put it on par with the first two in terms of visuals and soundtrack. But I don’t think recreating and changing moments from the first to fit the current time they’re in was as great of a choice as the writers think.

Who stole the show?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: Kitty is the queen of scene stealing and you can’t tell me otherwise. This was her movie.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: Kitty, of course. I definitely felt for her when she admitted to neglecting to mention that Lara Jean got into NYU because that meant they’d be across the country from each other.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: I believe in Lara Jean… I do not really remember anyone else except the indie band girl with the bangs (unless the bangs are a false memory?)

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: I stand by this: Kitty is the most iconic and likable character of this franchise. I wanted a reunion with Dae, the boy she met in Korea, so she could have her moment but I guess we can’t all get what we want.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: I honestly loved Trina! I thought seeing the dad romance plot develop was really cute and even though Trina only said a few lines to Lara Jean, they were what she needed to hear and delivered well. I also loved the dog fully vibing in the background of almost every house scene. I am sad that Kitty never had her reunion with her bae though.

What are your thoughts on Noah Centineo dancing? (View at your own risk)

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: They really toe the line of “dorky and cute” and “physically painful to watch.”

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: Felt like a Matthew Morrison moment.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: I really don’t like the guy. The carnival music in the TikTok is making me want to scream.

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: I had to rewind to make sure I wasn’t actually hallucinating. First of all, he KISSED the bowling ball (even pre-Covid times, that is GROSS and made me cringe) and then I had to see that atrocity of a victory dance in slow motion. Then he danced AGAIN in the prom scene. I don’t need to see that ever again.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: Definitely a rom-com staple (boy who never dances, dances!), but does that make it ok?

What did you think of Peter Kavinsky in this movie? Do you think he redeemed himself?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: I really thought he wouldn’t be able to redeem himself, but for a good 75% of the movie, I thought he was a very sweet, understanding boyfriend (even though at times I was like, No teenage boy would ever respond that way). But the way he acted after LJ told him she chose NYU ruined it all for me.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: I think the film attempted to make him redeemable with the whole father-son relationship subplot and how supportive he was of LJ at first, but I did not have high expectations going into it. Like I said before, they should’ve broken up.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: Noah Centineo looks like a sock puppet.

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: Noah Centineo annoys me, but I think Peter Kavinsky is astronomically annoying. There was some promise in the first quarter of the movie where I thought maybe I would like him again, but the fact that literally the whole time he expected LJ to follow him to Stanford without even asking what she wanted? That outweighed his grand gesture at the end.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: It was great when he asked if she was OK after admitting she didn’t get into Stanford, but his immediate “this is what you’re going to do” speech was so tiring. His character is so incredibly two dimensional and, it could be argued, a manic pixie dream boy? The father-son plot was completely irrelevant (though I’m guessing they did it to try add dimension to Peter, yet failed because it didn’t really go anywhere) but all I could think about was how Netflix has their grip on Henry Thomas.

Do you think it was a good conclusion to the trilogy?

Sophie Grieser, Co-EIC: Sure, it’s cute to see happy endings. Although I don’t think Lara Jean should have gotten back with Peter after he pulled the whole “wah-you’re-choosing-school-over-me” thing, and I also think John Ambrose was a WAY better match… but fine! Yes. It was cute.

Alejandra Orellana, Staff Writer: For what it was, yes. If I were 12, I’d probably be over the moon about it. Nevertheless it ended on a decent note. I just wish there had been stronger LJ character development and less of a focus on the “choosing a boy over your future” dilemma.

Cat Tebo, Co-EIC: I don’t have the context of the other 2 films but I thought this was kind of boring and I didn’t like how saturated and BLUE the whole thing was.

Morgan Pryor, Breaking News Editor: It was sometimes cute and mindless, albeit annoying — more so than the first and less so than the second. I’m glad LJ picked herself and her future over Peter’s plans, and I wish they ended their unhealthy relationship. But hey, maybe they will break up sometime post-Always and Forever. But I guess it sort of rebounded after the second, so there’s that.

Pierre-Philippe Falcone, Staff Writer: If I were 13 watching this for the first time, I’d never shut up about it. But you can tell the writers understand that most of the audience watching this movie had seen the previous two over their releases back in 2018 and 2020 and have grown up. The team knows this (hint hint: the steamier scene after prom) yet the plot itself didn’t mature. The characters felt exactly like they did in the first one and although it was incredibly cute and fluffy and rom-com, it still feels too 2D.

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Culture writer. Former Editor-in-Chief at NYU Local. You can find me @morganpryorr.