I know it is pretty late for a review but someone just asked me what is that ONE movie/sitcom that I was obsessed with this year and without thinking I answered Amazon Prime’s The Summer I Turned Pretty- Season 1. Plus, I think it may be my new favourite show to binge-watch, although I still love Friends a lot 🫣
A love triangle, two guys vying for the same girl, oh wait they are brothers, and a girl turning sweet sixteen in summer, I mean what else do you need for a perfect plot? The show started with Belly, (the luckiest girl in the world) coming to their annual summer holiday in the fictional town of Cousins Beach with her mother and brother. Prior to coming to the beach house, her best-friend Taylor (what a goddess!) points out how much she has changed over the past year, she doesn’t have her adolescent baby fat or nerdy glasses anymore and this was enough for her to become one of the most coveted girls in Cousins. And not to forget her one-sided crush on Conrad Fisher does not remain one-sided anymore and along with that she also has the younger brother, Jeremiah Fisher falling for her, (what a catch)
Coming back to Cousins, when Belly first gets out of the car and sees the lovable and jolly younger brother Jeremiah, I remember thinking yep, they will make a good pair as they both seemed quite goofy and likeable. But then lo-behold enters the dashing older brother and Belly’s prince charming, Conrad Fisher. I mean the eye contact between them in the introductory scene told me that they will be endgame and other than the eye contact there was another big hint, Taylor Swift! Yes, throughout the series whenever Belly and Conrad had a conversation, a romantic moment or an eye lock, A Taylor Swift song played. I mean what else am I supposed to infer?! And the song selection was just right, This Love, Cruel Summer and The Way I Loved You to name a few. These songs matched the situations in which they were played perfectly, for example during the debutante ball scene when in the last moment Conrad subs in for Belly after Jeremiah left suddenly without informing her, The Way I Loved You was a perfect choice for their dance as it really flaunted their chemistry.
I loved the series, and the extremely intriguing love triangle between Belly and The Fisher brothers was definitely one of the main reasons, Many viewers may find the love triangle trope cheesy and outdated but in this show, there is something about a classic love triangle story that excites me the most. Other than that I adored the heartening importance it gives to a lifelong friendship, sisters before misters!! Childhood friendship tends to often fade with time, but Laurel and Sussanah proved that notion wrong. They had each other’s back through every milestone in their life, from marriage to motherhood to divorce. It is also revealed that Laurel has been supporting Sussanah in another tough journey which may have fatal consequences and has not yet been shared with the children. Let’s be honest, that amount of unconditional love is rare, and Laurel knows that! It was wise of her to let Belly know after her fight with her childhood BFF Taylor that “Boys may come and go, but a friendship lasts a lifetime”. It’s true, as after all there are no friends like old friends.
Last but not least, the show gave ultimate summer vibes. Summers are not always about going on exotic vacations and spa trips but they can also be about a group of family and friends continuing their longtime tradition of an annual summer meetup!
