Last Updated: February 13, 2020, 13:31 IST
To All the Boys: PS I Still Love You
Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Jordan Fisher
Director: Michael Fimognari
Streaming on: Netflix
Last year, on Valentine’s Day, Netflix got every other girl drooling over Noah Centineo wishing to have a boyfriend like him. For Valentine’s Day 2020, Netflix served the sequel, To All The Boys: PS I Still Love You, bringing back the mushy romance of Lara Jean (Lana Condor) and Peter Kavinsky.
But haven’t been able to recreate the magic of the previous film. In the last one, Lara Jean’s younger sister, Kitty, sends out five love letters she had written to her crushes since childhood. While four of them turned up and confronted her, viewers were yet to see John Ambrose, who finds his way back in the second part by replying to her letter.
In the sequel, Lara and Peter are having their ‘happily ever after’ and everything seems pretty perfect when insecurities, misunderstandings and doubts creep in. And amid their mess enters John, who further complicates it by joining Lara in volunteering at the Belleview retirement home. While Lara loves Peter, she starts having second thoughts. Honestly, you cannot blame her, because Jordan Fisher as John is one fascinating guy.
Apart from the love triangle, there’s Kitty, who is as adorable as before. This time she’s trying to fix her dad with their neighbour Stormy played by Holland Taylor. Also, there’s a sneak peek into some Korean traditions. That is the part you’d want to see more but you don’t. LJ and PK are the sole focus of this follow-up.
The sequel has nothing that you haven’t seen before. It’s a typical high school romance that we have been watching since ages. The first part was no different, but the characters’ innocence seemed to have hit a chord with the audience. However, regardless of Centineo and Condor’s appealing chemistry, To All the Boys 2 falls flat.
The story is too predictable. Even if you skip it for some minutes you exactly know what would have happened because you have watched similar things in High School Musical series, 17 Again, Fault in Our Stars and many other Hollywood rom-coms.
What holds you for one hour forty two minutes is its soundtrack and screenplay. The story moves from one scene to the other so quickly, that you won’t realise you are halfway through the film. Same goes for the soundtrack. Complementing the fast paced sequences, the songs blend so effortlessly that they seem to be a part of the script.
It’s still a good-looking film with charming actors dressed up in their best. But that will only want you to go and raid some shopping complex, nothing more than that.
To All the Boys I Have Loved Before was a guilty pleasure you’d turn to every time you wanted to take a break from the regular sci-fi films and mafia thrillers. But To All The Boys 2 PS: I Still Love You doesn’t fit here. It’s a feel-good, one-time-watch and a happy film but the predecessor was much better.
Rating: 3/5
