“To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” Movie Review

Story posted February 17, 2020 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Emily Mugno

The highly anticipated sequel to one of Netflix’s biggest hits, “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” was released a few days early on February 12 titled, “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You.” The fans were eager to see if the film would measure up to the first. The original was released in August of 2018, and audiences were automatically hooked on the accidentally romantic love story between Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean Covey.

Fans enjoyed the Netflix original because of how different the plot was compared to other teen romance movies that have similar plots on the platform. The sequel did not do justice to the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” trilogy.

“To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” began rather cute, in which Lara Jean was trying on different outfits and dancing around her room. The fans get reacquainted with Kitty, Lara Jean’s younger sister, who is responsible for bringing together Lara Jean and Peter. At the end of the first movie, audiences learn that Kitty was the one who sent out Lara Jean’s letters that weren’t meant for other people to read.

Little did they all know, the letters would start something bigger than they could ever imagine.

Once Lara Jean is dressed, she heads downstairs to open the door for her now-boyfriend, Peter, and he is taken back by how beautiful she looks. The couple goes on their first date and it is heart-warming to see how nervous Lara Jean is. Nothing seems like it could go wrong.

However, later in the movie, Lara Jean gets a letter in the mail from a boy named John Ambrose McClaren. It turns out that one of Lara Jean’s letters went to John, a boy she went to middle school with, but he moved away soon after. John makes his return back into Lara Jean’s life, as they coincidentally decided to volunteer at the same nursing home. This is where they spend a great deal of time together and Lara Jean’s feelings start to become clouded.

Normally with sequels, the first movie never matches the potential of the first, and this seems to be true for the “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series. The plot was already predictable when the film began, but the movie couldn’t find an interesting way to enhance the plot.

The most climatic aspect of the movie is a child-like love triangle going on throughout, and watching Peter and John fight for Lara Jean’s approval. Besides the film being quite an uneventful movie, the movie was also lacking from an acting aspect. The movie seemed to be more child-like instead of maturing from the previous movie.

Lana Condor (Laura Jean) and Noah Centineo (Peter Kavinsky) weren’t able to deliver what everyone was expecting. As this is considered the middle child of the “To All the Boys” series, it will be interesting to see how fans will feel about the third movie, which will be titled “To All the Boys: Always and Forever, Lara Jean.” These characters will always be beloved by fans and it was such a familiar scene to see them on screen again, but it didn’t give that feeling that the first movie did. For a franchise that is as successful as this one, people can only hope for it to improve from here.

Rating: 2/5

 

Emily Mugno is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, e-mail esm6@psu.edu.