USA TODAY International Edition
Netflix’s ‘Boys’ rides ‘Crazy Rich’ coattails
“Crazy Rich Asians,” in theaters nationwide, is turning heads as the first studio film in a quarter-century to feature an entirely Asian-American ensemble cast. Riding on its coattails is a lesser-known win for Hollywood diversity: a Netflix high school rom-com with a female Asian lead.
“To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” hit the streaming site Friday and stars Vietnamese-American actress Lana Condor as Lara Jean Covey, an introverted high school junior who faces a crisis when the love letters she wrote – but never intended to send – are mysteriously delivered to every boy she has had a crush on.
Based on the YA novel by Jenny Han, “To All the Boys” is a sweet, compelling story that follows a slew of other romcoms released by Netflix, including “Set it Up,” “When We First Met” and “The Kissing Booth.”
This isn’t an inherently boundarypushing story. It is enjoyable and worth the watch (even though Janel Parrish, 29, plays Lara Jean’s 18-year-old sister, Margot). It’s made for a quiet Friday night in, set in a world with stereotypical mean girls and social media buzzwords.
But in terms of representation, it’s a pretty big deal: Aside from “Crazy Rich Asians,’ “To All the Boys”is one of Hollywood’s few rom-coms with an Asian lead. It’s also a story about a young woman whose ethnicity isn’t crucial to the plot. In fact, the only time it’s acknowledged is a few passing comments during a viewing of “Sixteen Candles.”
The hype surrounding “Crazy Rich Asians” suggests the public has an appetite for stories about varying cultures. “To All the Boys“is important because it reminds us that cultural exposés aren’t the only stories that should be told about people of color.
“People didn’t understand why the main character needed to be Asian,” Han said in a statement supplied by Netflix about turning her novel into a film. “I explained to them that it wasn’t that she needed to be Asian, it’s that she was. ... There doesn’t need to be ‘a point’ to her being Asian. She just is.”
At its core, “To All the Boys“is a love story – between Lara Jean and a boy, yes, but also between Lara Jean and her family and Lara Jean and herself. It’s a story that sets up a flawed and lovable three-dimensional character. She constantly contradicts herself.
“It’s important for Asian-American kids to see themselves in stories and to feel seen,” Han said. “They need to know that their stories are universal, too, that they too can fall in love in a teen movie. They don’t have to be the sidekick; they can be the hero. I’ve never seen an Asian American character like Lara Jean in a movie before – sweet, quirky, funny and just herself.”
The theatrical release of “Crazy Rich Asians,” as director Jon Chu told USA TODAY, “sends a very strong message that a Hollywood studio that brands things as special and worth your time to fight against traffic and parking and getting into a theater” is behind the film.
Netflix’s release of “To All the Boys“sends a similar message to a younger audience.
The accessibility of Netflix, as well as the young-adult audience targeted for this film, means diverse roles – specifically Asian roles – can become the new normal for a younger generation that already enjoys such projects as ABC’s family sitcom “Fresh Off the Boat” and “The Mindy Project.”
In a scene in which Lara Jean and her other sister, Kitty (Anna Cathcart), watch “Sixteen Candles” with her boyfriend, Peter (Noah Centineo), he asks: “Isn’t this character, Long Dong Duck, like, kind of racist?”
“Not ‘kind of.’ Extremely racist,” Lara Jean says.
It makes an important point: Hollywood has come far in the 34 years since the face of Asian representation in romcoms was “Long Duk Dong.” The fact that Lara Jean is rare among Asian female romantic lead characters proves there’s still a long way to go.
But movies such as “To All the Boys“and “Crazy Rich Asians” – plus news that Netflix has a rom-com in the works starring Randall Park and Ali Wong – makes for a solid start.