Forever Review: Cute, Fluffy and Relatable

Forever Review: In this gooey romantic series, two young athletes, Justin and Keisha, fall head over heels for one another after meeting at a party. With teenage hormones raging and social and parental pressures on their necks, will they get a taste of first love like never before?

The series has 8 episodes, each with a runtime of around 50 minutes and is based on the 1957 novel Forever… by Judy Blume.

Forever Review

Ah – young love. All those butterflies, the hormone raging through your system and your life being up in the air thanks to everything changing at the same time. It’s a tough time for all the youngsters out there, and it doesn’t help when there is crime to handle. Forever follows Justin and Keisha as they catch feelings fast after meeting at a party, but their past catches up to them at every turn.

It’s difficult not to get transported to Justic and Keisha’s world the moment the series starts because the directors have done a fantastic job of bringing their complicated and vibrant lives to life. Every minute of this series is extremely funny and superbly dramatic, making for good entertainment. The insanity of teenage life feels real and brings back past memories of overthinking about stuff that, in retrospect, doesn’t really matter.

However, there’s another layer to this series that makes it stick – it showcases the struggles of not just Black teenagers in America, but also working-class Black teenagers. Their struggles are not just because of their race but also their financial status, which adds a layer of nuance to their everyday struggles and gives you perspective about why they behave the way they do. The series does a great job of balancing these different themes and makes you root for the kids instead of finding them too immature or bratty.

Of course, they are immature and bratty, but the series makes it apparent that there’s more to it than that. Every fight, every issue that crops up in their lives, Justin and Keisha handle it in a way that fits a human being with a developing brain, but they are empathetic and smart kids as well, which makes you feel sympathetic to their struggles. Making big life decisions while facing the difficulties of everyday life and exploring love and sexuality makes for a scary time.

The overall messaging of this series is extremely positive and warm. There’s an innocence in Justin and Keisha’s relationship that really blossoms throughout the runtime and makes your heart flutter. Its relatable characters and themes remind us to talk to our loved ones and discuss our issues instead of keeping them bottled up, which is a nice message to put forth. The music is fantastic as well and made the experience better by quite a lot.

Of course, most of the kudos go to Lovie Simone and Michael Cooper Jr., who are adorable in every frame. There’s an innocence in Cooper Jr. that makes him easy to love from the first scene, while Simone is a mature and sometimes impulsive Keisha, whose rather sad past makes you want to protect her. Everyone else is also great, and the troubles that they face are realistic and relatable.

Final Thoughts

Forever, on Netflix, is a very warm and enjoyable series that you won’t be able to pause. Its relatable characters might be young and dumb, but their passion and empathy make you root for them throughout. In the end, this one’s a must-watch for coming-of-age enthusiasts who need something warm to keep them company this weekend.

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