Delayed Reaction: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You

Premise: Lara Jean and Peter are happily dating until she hears back from her last letter.

Pop culture is harder to rate than ever. There are two reason for this and the internet is to blame for both. First, there's more available variety than ever. It's easy for M*A*S*H to pull in 100 million people for its finale when there were only three channels. I've long theorized that the death of rock as a major force on the music charts has a lot to do with the fragmentation of the genre*. Everything is niche now. Even the most successful movies are breaking records on the back of premium formats and increased ticket costs rather than getting butts in seats. The second reason for the loss of pop culture is that it's so hard to measure. In the analog days, it was simpler. You could track popularity by Nielsen ratings, album sales, ticket stubs, etc. Now it's more nebulous. Companies like Netflix collect all this viewing information and only give us the occasional glimpse at them. They can tell us 40 million people watched Birbox, but we don't have any context for that.

I bring all this up, because To All the Boys I Loved Before was a big hit in 2018. I know this, but I can't prove it. I lived through that summer. I read the think pieces that referenced it and Set It Up as the next evolution of the RomCom. I heard the podcasts referencing it (or more importantly, referencing how their kids watched it). I saw it rise to a place of algorithm prominence on Netflix's maze of lists and menus.

I still don't really get why it was a big deal though. It's a charming movie; comparable in quality to past likable teen comedies like Easy A or 10 Things I Hate About You. Less silly and a skosh more melodramatic, but roughly equivalent. I remember remarking that the movie felt more like a TV season condensed to 90 minutes than a movie. That's not harsh criticism. Since the movie came out, none of the stars have broken out. Lana Condor and Noah Centineo haven't really blown up*. This is another one of those hits that perplexes me, and that's compounded by the fact that a lot of you aren't even aware that it was a hit in the first place. As I said, tracking pop culture is tough right now.

*Centineo has been cast to play He-Man for a movie next year. That could be something.

So, onto the sequel. The premise of the original movie lends itself to sequels quite naturally. As long as there's another letter floating around, there's a lingering story thread. Not surprisingly, the last (?) unaccounted for letter is the driving force of this installment's story. Yeah. It's a love triangle. Since I wasn't that invested in the relationship in the first movie, I can't say I had a strong rooting interest this time around either. Much like the first movie though, it's a low-key charmer. It's a skill to be able to convincingly play a sort of neurotic nerd who also looks like Lana Condor. The same goes for Noah Centineo playing both a stereotypical jock and likable romantic lead. Jordan Fisher is a solid complementary love interest: more like the kind of guy Lara Jean would fall for in college. The little love story with her dad (John Corbett) and neighbor (Sarayu Blue) is cute. Holland Taylor has been training her whole life for retired lush roles. I can't say this movie is ever going to top my rewatch list, but I also figure I'll watch the next one with no hesitation.

Verdict: Weakly Recommend