To All the Boys: PS I Still Love You

PS I Still Love You is one of my most awaited sequels since the first film came out. This was also my favorite book from the series, and judging with how much I adored the first film, I expect to love this ever more. I don't think I loved it as much as I wanted to, but I found the sequel to be as adorable as its predecessor.

The movie picks up with Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky starting their relationship. They go on dates, they engage in public displays of affections, and also go through relationship problems. For the most part, it was Lara Jean analyzing her relationship, feeling insecure because of her lack of experience and the expectations of her that maybe she wasn't ready for. The main conflict for the sequel comes in the form of John Ambrose McClaren, one of the recipients of Lara Jean's love letters. The two manage to reconnect when John Ambrose writes back to her, and they end up meeting again when they volunteer at the same senior home. 

In the books I was always #TeamPeter (except when he gets clingy in the third book, but that's for another movie), but it wasn't hard to root for Lara Jean and John Ambrose to be together. The two are alike in many ways; in terms of personality, Lara Jean was more comfortable in the presence of John Ambrose. Their scenes together were some of the best in the movie. It also helps that the actors involved have good on screen chemistry. Jordan Fisher makes the character so likable. He gave a charming performance, and bouncing off Lana Condor's delightful Lara Jean made their scenes really pleasant to watch. I feel like 'pleasant' is the wrong word to describe their scenes together, but it gives off a mixture of romantic tension, a field of happiness, and at the same time a tinge of sadness because you already know what's going to happen but you still hope for them. The sequel did give ample attention to John Ambrose, and my main take from this is that it's unfortunate that this would be the only John Ambrose McClaren installment because his presence was such a welcome addition to the story.

The film was filled with a mixture of romantic and tension-filled scenes, especially when John Ambrose and Peter finally meet after years of not seeing each other. Everyone in the room can feel how uncomfortable it is, considering how John Ambrose described middle school Peter, and Peter getting jealous because Lara Jean and John Ambrose were becoming friends. The narrative also didn't leave much for a lot of side arcs, so we don't get to see much of the other familiar faces. This is a Condor/Fisher movie, as even Noah Centineo didn't have much screen time. Maybe I was just too focused on the other side of the love triangle to notice. His character did take a step back though, as he had more charming scenes in the first film compared to the sequel.

I liked how the film somehow gave Genevieve and Lara Jean an end to their chapter without making one or the other seem unhinged and superficial. In the book, they both go into so much drama fighting over the attentions of one boy that there were times when both characters were becoming unreasonable. I thought giving Lara Jean's dad an arc would take much of the story away (that particular arc took a lot of time in the books) but it was okay.

There were a lot of things in the sequel that was reminiscent of its predecessor, style-wise. While I liked the nods to what made the film stand out. Overall, this was a good sequel. It gave the story progression, in terms of Lara Jean's growth, and featured good performances. I'm curious to see how the writer would end the trilogy; the third book is the weak link in the trilogy (in terms of narrative) but it does deal with bigger things than the first two books combined.