After the success of the first film of the franchise ‘To all the boys I’ve loved before’, Netflix is back with a sequel of the successful teen romantic comedy. The first film introduced us to the lead character that is Lara Jean Covey who wrote love letters to her most intense crushes and one day the letters get posted to the boys she wrote them for. This sends her life haywire and she ends up pretending to be the girlfriend of one of the boys Peter Kavinsky to make his actual girlfriend jealous. After faking their relationship for a while the two actually fall for each other and end up together at the end of the movie.
The sequel starts with Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky being a happy new couple going on their first date. They eventually start facing some of the tensions of a new relationship and Lara Jean begins to notice that her boyfriend is too famous and visible. One day Lara Jean gets a letter from a boy she once had a crush on and who she wrote a love letter to when she was young. She reads the letter and begins to wonder whether she should reply to him or not. This is where trouble in paradise starts brewing.
When asked to pick a place for volunteering, Lara Jean picks an old age home called Bellview and it is there that she meets her long lost crush John Ambrose Mcclaren. As she spends time with this guy, she realizes how it is so easy to be herself with him and starts questioning her relationship with Peter. The movie revolves around a love triangle between Lara Jean and the two boys she has intense feelings for. On one hand there is Peter who is her current boyfriend and on the other is her childhood love John Ambrose who is as perfect as she remembers him.
The film has changed the director from the first one and there are some evident changes in the direction style which might seem odd at times. Jordan Fisher is the new addition to the cast and he single-handedly pulls most of the weight of the film with his effortless performance and magical smile. John Ambrose turns out to be the most charming character and he definitely surpasses the original heartthrob Peter Kavinsky. The flashbacks scenes with little John Ambrose and LJ are really good and the best scene is definitely the piano moment between these two. However, the movie is predictable throughout and doesn’t take much risk with the story line.
As compared to the original film, the sequel is not as effortless and feels a bit calculated and messy at times. The soundtrack is catchy but takes away the impact in selective scenes. Overall, it is a decent watch for a weekend at home or a movie night with friends and the fashion choices are pretty good as well.
