041online

LOOKING for honest reviews on new and old movies and series? we have you covered, in this new series, Odette Parfitt gives her views on new and old movies and lets us know if it’s worth the stream.

Hi, my name is Odette and I still haven’t outgrown teen dramas…

Platform:

Prime Video

Basic plot:

From the pen of Jenny Han, who also gifted us with To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (we’re going to pretend there was only one movie in that series) comes a new half-Asian shy-girl protagonist for us to relate to. 

This is not a complicated premise. Belly is a teenage girl who is crushing on her childhood friend – but (spoiler) also on his brother, and also on the random guy from fifth-grade camp. There’s other stuff going on, but the majority of the plot rests on this love …triangle. Square? Hexagon? 

How it was probably pitched to the producers:

It’s basically The Vampire Diaries, but with less blood and – if you can believe it – more brooding.

Thoughts: 

OK let’s get something clear – I both love this show and love to mock this show. When I took up the first season I expected to hate it and I really wanted to hate it but I didn’t. The second season is a bit more iffy for many reasons. 

High points include:

• Any time Jeremiah and/or Steven dances (which is thankfully a frequent occurrence)
• Sassy-best-friend Taylor’s reactions to most things
• A believable level of swearing for teenagers 
• The diss track Taylor’s Boyfriend writes about Belly’s brother Steven
• Conrad’s floppy late-90s hair
• The sheer number of Taylor Swift songs on the soundtrack

Bottom line – is it worth the stream?

Oh, the angst! The will-they-won’t-they! Honestly, this is a tough one to call because there’s something that feels not very realistic about the idea that a girl can fall for two brothers, and Belly’s indecision can be frustrating to watch. That being said…something about it is weirdly watchable. 

Ultimately, I’d have to say: yes it’s worth the stream – but only if you still have patience for teen shows.

Watch this if you like:

• Emo boys with daddy issues
• The idea of seesawing between Team Conrad and Team Jeremiah constantly from one episode to the next
• Summer nostalgia like only Americans can deliver