A few months back I saw a trailer for a new Netflix movie called To All The Boys I've Loved Before on one of those movie clip/trailer accounts on Instagram. I thought it looked so cute and would have easily become obsessed over it then, but The Kissing Booth had just come out and I was obsessing over the height difference between Joey King and Jacob Elordi instead.
Fast forward and To All The Boys I've Loved Before has stolen my heart. Based on the book by Jenny Han, the movie is about Lara Jean, played by Lana Condor, writing love letters to her crushes rather than acting on her feelings. Somehow the letters get sent to those five boys and from there adventure ensues. One of them, having been addressed to her sister's ex, Josh Sanderson, played by Israel Broussard, has the potential to cause a lot of problems. But to cover it up, she starts to fake date Peter Kavinsky, played by Noah Centineo, another love letter recipient. This way Josh thinks she doesn't like him and Peter gets to make his ex-girlfriend, who is also Lara Jean's arch nemesis, jealous in the hopes of getting her back.
While the story is super cute, it's important to emphasize a bigger factor: the lead of a romantic comedy is being played by an Asian-American woman. This is a HUGE deal. In a recent interview with Lana Condor she discusses how she really wanted to be in a rom-com but pushed the thought to the back of her mind due to there being very little representation of Asian-American women as the lead. But then she booked this amazing movie, which specifically called for an Asian-American actress.
The biggest thing to take away from this is that representation matters. It is so important for young girls to see all different types of women in leading roles to encourage them to go follow their own dreams and to never dismiss them.
Something else that I would like to point out (SPOILERS) is that the way Peter Kavinsky falls in love with Lara Jean is so wholesome. She sets a strict rule towards the beginning that he's no longer allowed to kiss her. So through simply getting to know her on a fairly platonic level, he falls for her. He never pressures her into doing more than she's comfortable with and truly values her as a person. Even though they are supposedly "fake dating" he takes the time to meet her family, write her cute little notes, buy her yogurt drinks from the store all the way across town, and stand up for her regardless of if it may tarnish his own image or reputation.
Peter Kavinsky you have raised the bar for all men.
If you have an hour and a half take the time to watch this movie. I can promise you it will not disappoint.
