With 2021, Netflix brought two of its popular teen romcom trilogies to an end – To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before and The Kissing Booth.
Both the movies are in a way quite similar in their central theme – Protagonist has an unreciprocated crush on the unattainable and hot jock in high school. By the end of movie 1, the couple are together. Movie 2 introduces a “new guy” and toys with the practiced formula of a love triangle. In movie 3, both Lara Jean and Elle are trying to balance between saving their relationship and choosing a college.
And both movies are based on books!!
For Lara Jean it began with a letter and for Elle it began with a kiss.
Is one of the movies better than the other? Well, I kind of liked both!! Both the movies have some good moments.
Firstly, To All The Boys:
There is something cute and romantic about writing love letters to your crushes. And it was super scary (for LJ) but super fun for us when Kitty posted all her secret letters!!
The contract between Peter and Lara Jean and all that happened because of it made the first movie a great watch for me.
Movie 2 had some epic visual treats like,
The sky lanterns from Peter and Lara Jean’s first “real” date
John Ambrose and Lara Jean’s dance
I also liked the idea of the time capsule buried below a treehouse!
The scene between Gen and Lara Jean where they resolve their conflicts and Gen tells Lara Jean that Peter is crazy about her.
Watching Lara Jean fall in love with NYU
Peter’s letter to Lara Jean in their yearbook– complete with his memory of their meet-cute and it genuinely sounded like a sincere apology too.
The Kissing Booth:
Number 1: LISTS!!
For someone like me who loves lists, this was perfect.
I would have certainly liked to include these rules on my friendship rule list (if I had one):
Rule #6: If you can’t tell your best friend about something you’re doing, you probably shouldn’t be doing it.
Rule #7: No matter how mad you are at your best friend, you have to forgive them if they give you ice cream.
And the Beach Bucket List!!
I mean, stuff like paragliding and swimming with sharks!!
Hell, I’ll be happy even with the small stuff like a sandcastle and a blanket fort.
Number 2: The Summer Montages
I loved the memory montages at the beginning of Movies 2 and 3 that show what Elle did over the summer.
Number 3: Lee and Elle’s Friendship
Oh Thank God that this wasn’t another one of those movies where the best friends fall for each other. I specifically liked the scene in the third movie when Lee leaves for Berkeley and Elle is waving him goodbye and the camera pans out and shows us all the Elles from their childhood till now saying goodbye and all the Lees from their childhood till now driving away sadly.
Number 4: The Dances!!
Each time Elle and Lee dance on the DDM machine
Elle and Marco’s winning performance at the DDM competition
The Flash mob to Shut up and Dance with me
Number 5: Mrs Flynn’s words of advice to Elle in each movie.
Number 6: The bike rides at the end of each movie.
