Summary
It is a teen romantic drama that doesn’t shy away from the hardships of high school relationships. The editing was strong because it kept cutting back on important moments in their relationship during their final day together, so viewers got to see those intimate moments without it feeling overly long.
This review of the Netflix film Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between does contain minor spoilers.
When we’re older we realize that everything that happened in high school holds no weight. We realize that we were growing by making mistakes and that those decisions helped shape us into the people we are today. But, what if you prevented those mistakes from happening and kept your guard up? Who would you have become? Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between offers a different perspective on high school relationships that anyone can connect with. This is one of the more grounded teen dramas on Netflix and it was adapted from Jennifer E. Smith’s novel under the same name. It shows the full spectrum of a high school relationship in such a short amount of time and the structure of it helps deconstruct those smaller moments.
We meet Claire (Talia Rider) and Aiden (Jordan Fisher) who make a pact to break up before college. Of course, with no regrets and no broken hearts. However, one epic goodbye date may offer them a last chance at love. Yes, this romantic teen drama has a gimmick, but it shows the rise, plateau, and fall of first love. Rider and Fisher have such natural chemistry that they make their relationship believable, which is rare nowadays. Claire doesn’t want to have a boyfriend in high school because her parents were high school sweethearts and they ended up getting divorced. So, like any other person with relationship trauma, she takes preventative actions to make sure it doesn’t happen to her. Then enters the incredibly charming Aiden, and sweeps her off her feet, while they both make a deal to break up at the end of the year.
The pacing of this movie made it feel like you stayed with this couple over a long period. Meanwhile, it was a short montage that was shown in pieces throughout the film. We saw the hello and how wonderful their relationship was for the year, and then the goodbye. The editing was strong because during their final day together, it kept cutting back on important moments in their relationship. So viewers got to see those intimate moments without it feeling overly long. With each new destination, Aiden presented to Claire on their final date, there was a flashback showing his reasoning. Whether the moment was good or bad, he brought that feeling back so they could remember. It did drag a bit towards the end, but what happens between Aiden and Claire is interesting to watch.
Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between is a teen romantic drama that doesn’t shy away from the hardships of high school relationships. In high school, every little situation can feel like the end of the world because our emotions are heightened at that time. This movie shows how important small moments are and how we can all learn from them. Relationships can be difficult, and so can breakups, especially if they end amicably. The love will always be there, but what this shows is that timing is everything. The more honest and realistic the teen drama is, the healthier it is for teenagers to understand that relationships shouldn’t be taken for face value because they are really hard work.
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