Within recent months, Netflix has released a very popular teen romantic comedy film called "To All the Boys I Loved Before."
Before the release of this movie, popular culture wasn't focused on this genre that much. Instead, demand centered around hero or action films.
The rom-com genre has been steadily dying since the rise in interest in the late 1990s and early 2000s. For example, films like "27 Dresses," "13 Going On 30," and tons of others were at the height of their time.
Since these releases, however, public demand has decreased greatly.
When I first heard about "To All the Boys" I didn't think it would be a hit. In fact, I thought that it would go mostly overlooked. I can say, after a few weeks since its release, it definitely did not go unnoticed.
This movie has gotten an incredible amount of attention on Twitter in particular — from people swooning over Noah Centineo to participating in a trending topic where users come up with creative ideas extending the title.
I do have to say, it's gotten a little annoying recently — but I'm all for it. One of my favorite genres is rom-com, so I love to see that they're still able to be popular.
This movie stars Lana Condor and Noah Centineo as high school juniors trying to figure out love and relationships. The main plot focuses around these two going into a fake relationship, only to come out with a real one by the end of the story.
While this is definitely not an original idea, it's done perfectly. All of the actors and actresses are charming, endearing, and quirky enough to be considered unique. The interactions between Centineo and Condor feel real and swoon-worthy.
Everything about "To All The Boys I Loved Before" is precisely and intentionally planned to capture the interest of young women and girls around the world.
It looks like Netflix has recently realized the potential of this teen rom-com frame and is trying to take control of new movies in this genre. After "To All The Boys" was released, for example, "Sierra Burgess is a Loser" came out about a month later with a pretty decent audience reaction.
Like "To All The Boys," "Sierra Burgess" is a teen rom-com that has a similar to the format of teen movies released in the 1990s. Again, the main female teen is tangled up in a fake relationship with Noah Centineo (yes, it's the same male actor from "To All The Boys").
Unlike "To All The Boys," however, "Sierra Burgess" rides the line a little bit more. The main character is a little harder to forgive by the end of the movie. Even so, it's not as cheesy as I expected it to be, and it definitely gave me all the rom-com feels I was looking for.
It looks like Netflix is really diving in to producing more movies in the teen rom-com genre, and I hope they don't stop anytime soon — I've been waiting and wishing for these to become more popular. Let's just hope they keep their standards high for the main characters in the future.
