Welcome back to Penguin Teen March Movie Madness!

It is time for ROUND 3 and that means DUMPLIN’ backed by Jenn Marie Thorne VS. TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE backed by Kat Cho! IT’S THE NETFLIX SMACKDOWN!

Let’s hear from Jenn Marie Thorne first!

Listen, I love Lara Jean. Everybody loves Lara Jean! What’s not to love? She’s introspective, sweet, gorgeous, humble, and oh my goodness, that style. She’s exactly what I wished I could be when I was in high school, complete with multiple adorable boys vying for my affection. But I wasn’t Lara Jean. And I think that’s why I love Willowdean just a little bit more.

You don’t need to have entered an actual beauty pageant to understand what Willowdean is fighting for in Dumplin’. I don’t know about you guys, but I spent most of my teenage years feeling like I was in an unofficial pageant where everybody knew the moves, had the look, the clothes, the lifestyle, except for me. I wasn’t choosing between multiple suitors. There were zero suitors! I felt different in the same way that I suspect most of us feel different as teens, even the ones who seem to fit that teen dream mold.

Dumplin’ honors that feeling of difference and leans into it. In this film, based on Julie Murphy’s incredible novel, we get every teen movie beat—with a real-world twist. There’s a training/makeover sequence with drag queens. An incredible soundtrack that’s 100% Dolly Parton. A perfect blond rival who isn’t a mean girl. An adorable romance that can’t be fulfilled until Willowdean learns to fully love herself.

And it’s in that last difference that Dumplin’ truly outshines To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. The thrills of first love are certainly worth exploring, but Willowdean’s journey is tied to deeper themes of self-discovery and self-celebration.

To paraphrase the great Dolly Parton, Dumplin’ is all about “finding out who you are and doing it on purpose.” If that doesn’t sum up the true teen experience, I don’t know what does.

Everyone ready? Let’s go Kat!

My argument was just going to be five words: Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. Because that’s all I need to prove TATBILB is the best of the best. But, it’s a disservice not to point out the many other reasons it’s the ultimate teen movie. TATBILB marks the official return of a wholesome teen romance where they feel the soft glow of first love. With the simple and heartwarming premise of an awkward Lara Jean’s secret letters mailed to all her past loves, the doors have been blown open again for a new era of teen romance. For this alone, TATBILB should be seen as the ultimate modern teen movie (well, this and that pocket spin scene!). Another amazing factor is how Lara Jean’s relatable awkwardness and how Peter K’s “popularity” doesn’t protect him from the pain of dealing with coming of age. It also touches on the idea of crushing on someone who’s always been there–both with Lara Jean’s fake relationship with Peter K and her long-time crush on Josh. This is such universally relatable feeling, the idea that a person you’ve known since you were in middle school is attractive to you as you enter your high school years. Another factor that is near and dear to my heart is that it’s a diverse film that doesn’t make the diversity the main theme. As Jenny Han once said, Lara Jean’s spirit is Asian American so it was important that she be played by an Asian American actress, but nothing in the plot hinges on her coming to terms with her Asianness. This was amazing for me as a Korean American viewer finally seeing someone who looks like me as a heroine in a teen film. I’ll forever be grateful to Jenny Han for holding out! It was worth the wait to get the true spirit of Lara Jean Song Covey right!

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