Weekend Warmth: To All the Boys & Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar

Some weeks, you are all set to watch important and hard-hitting movies that are gonna lay the truth on you and expand your horizons. And some weeks, you want to cozy up to a YA romcom or a splendidly dumb female buddy comedy. For those latter weeks, I've got you covered.

To All the Boys: Always and Forever: This is the third installment in the series that began with To All the Boys I've Loved Before in 2018. If you haven't watched the previous films, you're in for a trilogy treat, lucky you! Based on the Young Adult novels by Jenny Han, this film sees our heroine, Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor), wrestling with college applications and planning for her future with boyfriend Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo). This movie has such a zippy and fun plot, and of course, is especially dear to me as it features Lara Jean traveling to New York City and experiencing its delights for the first time. Like all great YA films (and most Netflix productions where the music budget appears to be astronomical), this movie has a banging soundtrack from start to finish, and at the very least you will be adding some new songs to your rotation. 

The production and costume design are also as impeccable as always, particularly at the beginning when Lara Jean and her family are visiting Seoul (which allows for some great K-pop numbers to kick off the soundtrack). Every location is eye-popping in its detail, every set is meticulously crafted, Lara Jean's outfits are on point. These movies are a candy-coated confection, aesthetically-speaking, but Katie Lovejoy's script is also heartfelt and stirs up all the feels. This is a lovely, romantic, comforting movie to watch. If, like me, you've already seen the previous films, it is so nice to return to these characters and see how the actors have grown since we saw them last (Noah Centineo has definitely bulked up over the intervening years while Lana Condor is still as fresh-faced and delightful as ever). The supporting characters are also evolving with their own side romances, and it's all very cute and charming. Face it, we need to escape from the daily grind, and this movie is the escape you seek.

Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar: Speaking of escapes, if you want to escape from reality so far that you enter into a new dimension, Barb and Star is the movie for you. It is essentially like watching a highlight reel of the best Saturday Night Live sketches strung together to make one insane and bonkers and madcap movie that will keep you giggling for 100 minutes. Isn't that all we want during these times? If you want a description of the plot, I don't know what to tell you - the title tells you all you need to know, doesn't it? Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (teaming up ten years after writing the smash hit Bridesmaids) play the eponymous Barb and Star, two middle-aged ladies from Nebraska, with the accents to match, who are best friends and decide to go to Vista Del Mar, Florida for a vacation. Unbeknownst to them, that small town is where an evil villain (who is also played by Kristen Wiig) is planning to launch a dastardly plot by way of her henchman, Edgar (played by the deliciously divine Jamie Dornan). Barb and Star "befriend" Edgar, and everything goes haywire. There are musical numbers, there are absurd fantasy sequences, and most importantly, there are jokes, jokes, and more jokes.

This movie is crazy and perfect. Wiig and Mumolo are best friends and their chemistry shines on screen as these two ladies who love talking to each other and can spend every waking minute chattering away about utterly inane topics. And when the movie is not focused on them, there are a million side gags involving every single random character they come across. One of the highlights for me was their Talking Club, which features a host of comedic women you will recognize from various sitcoms and movies. I don't know how anyone managed to get through a single scene of Talking Club without cracking up and ruining the take, but I guess that's why these ladies are professional comedians. Watch this film. It's loud, colorful, joyful, and hysterical in the best possible way and you need it in your life.