The long awaited sequel to the hit Netflix film, “To All The Boys I Loved Before,” was recently released just in time for Valentine’s Day. Although the name might suggest, “To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You,” audiences were not left feeling the same as that affectionate post-script.

Following the same characters as the last film, “P.S. I Still Love You,” follows Lara Jean Covey (Lana Condor, “Summer Night”), a daydreaming introvert, as she tries to balance her new relationship with Peter Kavinsky (Noah Centineo, “Charlie’s Angels”), the resident high school jock. As the case would be for any teenage romance film, this relationship does not shy away from the drama as old love interests make their appearances to cause jealousy and miscommunication. 

This film was given the unfortunate role of the plot arch, in that as the second installment of a trilogy, it seemed to lend itself mainly to unnecessary drama and circling dialogue. This left audiences feeling a little less than stellar about the entire film, causing “To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” to receive only a 46% audience approval, as shown on Rotten Tomatoes. Falling short of the expectations its predecessor set, and leaving some fans dissatisfied, the overall result did what it had to do in relation to the trilogy. The integrity of the characters remained intact and we again see wonderful performances from Condor and Centineo, with the addition of Jordan Fisher (“Rent: Live”) who plays the critical third point in the love triangle and the fan favorite Holland Taylor (“Two And A Half Men”) who plays the role of the wise confidant. 

Despite being both visually appealing and talent-filled, the dialogue and overall storyline were predictable. While the film does a decent job at portraying some of the difficulties of balancing a new relationship while in high school, handling jealousy, feelings of inferiority, isolation and even touching on the anxieties surrounding new sexual experiences, it fails to really encapsulate them in a meaningful manner, leaving many things open ended. Perhaps this is a lead in to the already scheduled third installment of the series, but for the time being, this lack of a conclusion left audiences confused as to what the purpose of the film was. 

Some audiences would have always been disappointed with the outcome of the film, especially if they were looking for something like other classic teen dramas. This film by no means is the next “Pretty In Pink,” but ultimately, this film was the middle child of a storyline meant to be taken lightheartedly. Instead of looking at this film as serious and emotional, audiences need to look at it for what it is, a fun movie to watch and eat ice cream to, and sometimes that should be enough. 

Image from Netflix via YouTube