Movie Review: To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. Sequel is Fun, Flirty, and Still Awkward

To All the Boys P.S. I Still Love You key art - Netflix

Movie Review: To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. Fun, Flirty, and Still Awkward

Release Date: Available Wednesday, February 12, 2020 on Netflix

Directed By: Michael Fimognari

Screenplay By: Sofia Alvarez, J. Mills Goodloe (Based on the novel by Jenny Han)

Cast: Lana Condor, Noah Centineo, Jordan Fisher, John Corbett, Holland Taylor, Anna Cathcart, Madeleine Arthur, Sarayu Blue

Run Time: 1hr 21min

REVIEWER RATING: ★★★★★ 4 Stars

Ah, to be young and in love… Scratch that; it’s not as fun as it sounds. After watching the first installment of the film franchise, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, I was anxious to see how the sequel would play out (and yes, there will be a third film).

While there are some lulls, overall, To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You captures that teenage awkwardness and wonderful inner-monologue/fantasy-monologue (along with a wardrobe montage) that makes the To All the Boys films so darn enjoyable! There are also a few surprises and new romantic interests involving the Covey clan.

Lara Jean Covey (Lara Condor) and Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo) are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. No more pretending. And while you don’t have to watch the first film to enjoy To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, I do highly recommend it…or you can read my recap here. After secret love letters were sent out, Lara Jean finally has the “perfect” guy in Peter; however, the illusion of what she thinks is perfection quickly turns into insecurity, self-doubt, and a lot of what ifs.

What I enjoy about Condor’s performance as Lara Jean is her ability to play the character with such innocence and a bit of trepidation. Being a teenage girl is hard enough, add on being a first-time girlfriend to one of the most popular guys in school, who also happens to be a star athlete, it’s enough to make a gal go neurotic. Lara Jean over thinks everything and begins second guessing herself, including her relationship with Peter. Condor does such a wonderful job of expressing joy, elation, worry, sadness, frustration, and confusion.

As the film progresses, we get a bird’s eye view of the brand spanking new relationship between Peter and Lara Jean. As he tries to impress her by using tried and true methods, she is in uncharted territory. From fancy dinners to their first Valentine’s Day; Lara Jean feels like a fish out of water. But then, she gets a letter.

Of all the letters she wrote (and that her sister Kitty (Anna Cathcart) secretly sent out behind her back), Lara Jean finally gets a reply from the one and only John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher). After reading his letter, and penning many dreamy responses, to Lara Jean’s surprise, she begins to ask herself – what if John Ambrose’s letter got to her before the fake-relationship (now real relationship) with Peter happened? Would she and John Ambrose be dating?

All these questions and more roll around in Lara Jean’s head. And then something unexpected happens – she runs into John Ambrose at Belleview, the senior living center where she is volunteering. Uh-Oh!

I adore Centineo as Peter. He’s done such a great job in many of his projects, including another Netflix gem – Sierra Burgess Is A Loser, as the hot approachable guy in high school. The way Centineo portrays Peter in To All the Boys: P.S. I Love You makes him that much more adorable, yet also a bit self-absorbed. I’m sure I’ll get flack for that comment but hear me out. I think that’s what the screenwriters intended, thus Centineo nails his performance. Peter has been a boyfriend before. He’s been around that block with his last girlfriend, Gen (Emilija Baranac). So, when things don’t go as smoothly for him and Lara Jean, it throws him off his game.

Peter is nuts about Lara Jean, but things go from awkward to WTF quicker than he imagined. Lara Jean tells Peter about John Ambrose volunteering at Belleview with her, yet, despite having ample opportunity to let John Ambrose know she is now dating Peter, that major detail remains unsaid.

It’s not until a very uncomfortable moment when Lara Jean, Peter, John Ambrose, Gen, Trevor (Ross Butler) and Christine (Madeleine Arthur) get together for one last time in the neighborhood tree house before it’s demolished that the truth comes out.

Lara Jean isn’t the only one dealing with a new relationship. Her widowed dad, Dan (John Corbett), finds himself falling for their neighbor Trina Rothschild (Sarayu Blue). Their romance isn’t in the forefront, but it definitely gets plenty of screen time and it’s pretty darn adorable.

Fun fact: Blue recently guest starred in CBS’ The Unicorn playing the love interest for Walton Goggins’ character Wade. It’s almost a mirrored experienced in that in both of these projects, both men are widowed.

Without spoiling To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, I will share a few highlights of the film that are worth mentioning.

Holland Taylor plays a wonderful woman named Stormy who resides at Belleview. Stormy helped Lara Jean’s older sister Margot (Janel Parrish) when she volunteered there before heading off to college. Taylor is delightful as the outspoken, outgoing, and out of this world Stormy. From her stories of having kissed many of the “wrong” guys to find the right one, to giving Lara Jean sage advice, Taylor is a breath of fresh air.
Kitty is the best little sister ever. She’s not too annoying, even though she over shares sometimes, and she’s certainly got a knack for sending letters and Valentine’s for other people. Although I’m sure Trina is appreciative of the gesture.
Jordan Fisher’s performance as John Ambrose is so endearing. Admittedly, I wasn’t sure if he was going to turn out to be a jerk (no, I didn’t read the books) but I heard (from a co-worker) that his performance is very in tune with the character in the books.

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is a wonderfully fun movie to watch. There are a few lulls, but there is also a positive message about sexual intercourse. The film does a terrific job of balancing all the story-lines, weaving them together seamlessly as they begin to intersect at various points.

The movie is filled with laughs, awkwardness, aww moments, some drama, and a sprinkle of cattiness (courtesy of Gen). There is also a wonderful scene full of nostalgia as Lara Jean and her family pay homage to their late mother in a cultural ceremony that really touched my heart.

Being Korean-American, seeing both Kitty and Lara Jean wearing the traditional hanbok made me a bit emotional. Having these amazing young Asian-American actresses for the current generation to look up to is something I’m so grateful for. I wish I had more Asian women on screen to look up to when I was growing up.

If you are looking for a cute, fun, and entertaining film to watch on Valentine’s Day, or any day, then you should watch To All the Boys: P.S. I Love You. Make it a double-feature and watch To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before too!

To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You Official Trailer

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.