Movie Review: To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You

This was movie #2/20 that I reviewed for my 20 for 2020 challenge. This movie was released on Netflix on February 12, 2020.

I wasn't a big fan of this movie. I thought the first movie was okay, but I think the second one just felt boring, frustrating and unnecessary. I think the biggest thing is just that it was super boring for me. Because I didn't have a strong emotional response to this movie, I won't have a spoiler discussion in this review.

I haven't read any of the books in this series. I'm sure the books are better, and I'm sure there are a lot of plot lines that were left out for the movie for time-saving. As a book fan, it always frustrates me when the movie doesn't do the book justice, and then all the people who just watch the movie will think that the book series is bad as well. I just wanted to specifically state that my feelings and criticism towards the movie don't apply to the books at all.

It didn't feel like enough things happened in this story, to justify the making of this movie. They definitely just made it because of the popularity of the first movie. And they even make the first one worse by giving more context to why certain events took place in the first one, that leave it in a bad light. So I really don't like that.

I was frustrated with the decisions that Lara Jean makes throughout the movie. But at the same time, I feel like it was a realistic portrayal of a high school girl making mistakes with her first relationships, so I do appreciate seeing that perspective. Most other romantic comedy movies portray the main character as perfect with no flaws, so did appreciate that they showed a more varied and realistic portrayal of Lara Jean and her tendency to self sabotage. Another note is that I thought a lot of the dialogue and plot felt really unnatural and out of place.

I didn't find it very romantic either. I didn't really feel much of a connection to either of the two love interests. Because I didn't really have a strong connection to any of the characters, I don't really have any strong feelings about spoiler-y things, like who she ends up with the end, so I won't have a spoiler section of this review. I do really like Jordan Fisher and Noah Centineo as people though. They're both attractive and talented and seem super sweet, so I wish that their characters had more depth and development. I feel like their talent and star power was wasted.

I wouldn't this movie to people, and I probably won't watch the third one. I'd probably give this a 4/10. Have you seen this movie? What were your thoughts? Please share them down below.