TV & Film
The answer, unfortunately, is no.
Although the chemistry between the two main actors is better than ever and new plot points are introduced to enrich the story, P.S. I Still Love You’s attempts to cohesively and succinctly tie it all together fall flat.
This much awaited-sequel to Netflix fan favorite, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, opens with a completely different premise from the first: Lara Jean or LJ Covey (Lana Condor) is now completely and happily in love with her fake-turned-real boyfriend Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo)—or is she? What happens when one of the boys she used to love John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher) responds to her love letter?
P.S. I Still Love You explores the what-ifs in every romantic relationship through LJ’s tricky navigation of adolescence, dating, and love. The movie succeeds at portraying its rocky ups and downs, but its enthusiastic injections of drama leave little time for character development. Consequently, as a viewer, you don’t get to fully enjoy each personality that appears on-scene. Most merely feel like supporting characters to LJ, who, frankly, can get on your nerves in this movie—until you remember she’s just a teenage girl in high school going through her first real relationship.
Despite the attention on LJ, her character arc isn’t fleshed out either. When she ultimately makes the decision that leads to the resolution of the story, we don’t exactly know how she got there and why it was the right choice to make. With too much happening in too little time, the movie lacks the striking simplicity of its predecessor.
Criticisms aside, if what you’re looking for is a light watch filled with cute, swoon-worthy scenes, then you won’t be disappointed. After all, the movie portrays love in a way our younger selves all want to be loved, and we can’t help but get sucked into the world it has created for us. Its successful role as a feel-good film is undeniable, but it stops there. Truth be told, if we weren’t all so invested in LJ and Peter, we might never even watch it at all.
Photo sourced from The New York Times
