Candice Anvari staff writer
After a year of anticipation, “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” premiered on Netflix on Feb. 12, but it definitely wasn’t worth the wait. 
The movie is an adaptation of Jenny Han’s sequel “P.S. I Still Love You,” which was released on May 26, 2015. The film is a depiction of the life of teenage girl Lara Jean, played by Lana Condor, and her love interest Peter Kavinsky, played by Noah Centineo. The couple must navigate obstacles thrown at their relationship, such as the return of Lara Jean’s old friend John Ambrose McClaren, played by Jordan Fisher.  
The film started out with Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky’s incredibly awkward first date. The date was a terrible and unrealistic portrayal of how a real first date in high school would be. In high school, students that are dating are generally aren’t formal with one another. When Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky would interact, it sounded as if they were interacting with a teacher, rather than a friend. The acting in the opening scene was stiff and there appeared to be no spark between the love interests. Thus, the dull tone of the movie was set from the beginning. 
After the opening scene, the movie dragged on without any plot  development throughout the first hour. The film included many unnecessary scenes that added nothing to the storyline. If the movie was consistent in sticking to the plot featured in the book, it would’ve captured the audience’s attention earlier. 
The acting of the characters contributed to the never-ending feeling of the film. Condor gave an impressive performance in the first movie “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” but she lacked emotion in the second film, which made her seem monotonous on camera. Centineo was also lacking in his on-screen connection with Condor. In the first movie, the two appeared to have a spark that could be seen through the screen, but that spark disappeared in this film.  
However, the main issue with the film was its false portrayal of a teenage love story. Every aspect of Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean’s romance seemed too fake to be relatable. The conversations they shared sounded too scripted, making every scene lose its relatability. If Peter Kavinsky and Lara Jean interacted less formally with each other, their connection would’ve been palpable, but the movie exhibited a cliché that progressively got worse as it continued. 
Overall, if the movie stuck with the original storyline Han wrote for the book, the film would’ve been immensely better. The movie was definitely not worth sitting through an hour and 41 minutes of discomfort. 
Highlights rates this movie a 2.5/5