Editors MacKinley Lutes-Adlhoch and Grace Oldham eat their way through popular films, reviewing them and pairing them with the perfect movie snack.
Netflix’s original movie, "To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before," stole the hearts of cheesy romantic comedy fans across the country. With teenage hijinks, punchy humor and — don’t forget — an adorable love story, it has social media buzzing about its success.
Boasting a 95 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” sits at an impressive No. 3 spot on IMdb’s Most Popular Movies List. The film has garnered a major social media presence prompting memes and a plethora of Buzzfeed quizzes.
It seems Netflix has recently hit a sweet spot with romantic comedies going viral. Netflix originals like Set it Up and The Kissing Booth had similar waves of popularity when they were released.
One thing is for sure — the rom-com is back, and movies are best watched with friends and more importantly, food.
Recipe:
Cupcakes are easy, and boxed cake doesn’t require a complicated recipe. Buy whatever flavor sounds good, follow the instructions on the box adding eggs, oil and water, and bake according to the time recommended for cupcakes.
The fun part about this snack is the decorating! For these cupcakes, the “P” stands for “Peter Kavinksy,” Lara Jean’s love interest.
Arts and culture editor MacKinley Lutes-Adlhoch pairs"To All the Boys I've Loved Before" with cupcakes. Photo taken on Monday, Aug. 27, 2018 in Tempe, Arizona.
To mimic this design, first frost the cupcakes with white frosting. Fill a bowl with sugar sprinkles of any color, and dip the cupcake frosting into the sprinkles until they are pressed into the frosting.
Then, fill a plastic bag with white frosting and cut the corner tip off to create a DIY piping bag. Write "P" centered on the cupcake, and dip the cupcake in a bowl of different colored sprinkles to decorate the letter or shape.
Casting: 5/5
Critics and fans are praising “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” for its casting of an Asian-American female lead. Jenny Han, the author of the book which was adapted to film, told People Magazine it was important the lead be cast as Asian-American like she originally wrote.
Han said she turned down many movie offers at first because some production companies wanted to whitewash the lead. It was important Asian-American girls were represented, she said, so she stuck it out until the movie was made according to her standards.
Story: 4/5
The story deserves a four out of five — for what it is. It can’t be compared to classics like “The Godfather,” but in its category of romantic teen comedies, it shines.
An expert combination of humor, romantic moments that have the audience in “aww” and just enough suspense to keep people interested puts this movie at the top of the list for fresh films worth a watch.
Soundtrack: 3/5
This soundtrack has unmistakable '80s vibes. Most songs have a highly stylized sound, giving the film a retro feel. The most iconic song in the film is “Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, a recognizable jam for parents and teens alike.
In between guitar synths, songs from various other genres add melodies and moods to the background of each scene. It’s not a completely cohesive soundtrack, but it has many gems.
Relevance: 5/5
Representation in film is a hot topic now, and Han told People she had never seen an Asian-American girl star in a teen movie before her own novel was adapted to film. This same month, “Crazy Rich Asians” came out, featuring an all Asian cast and raking in over $83 million dollars in its first two weeks. Now more than ever, movies like these are relevant and gaining vast attention for their causes.
Overall: 4.25/5
Its casting is groundbreaking, its story is fresh, the soundtrack is classic and the cultural relevance is appropriate. “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” is the perfect movie to curl up on the couch and watch with friends — and cupcakes.
Reach the reporter at mlutesad@asu.edu or follow @mackinleyjade on Twitter.
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