Rom-Com Review: A Review of the Recently Released Rom-Coms ‘To All The Boys P.S. I Still Love You’ and ‘The Photograph’

To All The Boys P.S. I Still Love You

By: Lauren Dierks

At this point in the school year, I’d take any form of entertainment over finishing my CAT packet or reviewing an Anatomy Quizlet — including a sappy rom-com. After watching the original “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” movie, I was convinced I’d fallen in love with Peter Kavinksy too. So with the release of the sequel, “To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You” on Netflix, I couldn’t help but rekindle my obsession.

Before I started the movie I had prepared myself for the warped depiction of high school relationships and drama that comes with the cheesiness of Netflix original rom-coms. Though I knew what to expect, I still found myself surprised at the characters’ abundance of free-time as if homework didn’t exist.

The classic popular-jock-falls-for-quiet-girl plot from the first movie carried over to the sequel with Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky as the “picture perfect” couple. It’s hard to disagree that their relationship is cute, but it’s far from realistic. The all too common in-school PDA and promises to “never break each other’s hearts” are not regular occurrences in a relationship — especially in high school. 

Things get more realistic when a jealous Peter and a self-conscious Lara Jean begin fighting. Peter acts out when Lara Jean spends more time volunteering with a boy she had history with from sixth grade, John Ambrose McClaren, and Lara Jean can’t help but feel second best to Peter’s ex. The two break up because of the tension — the most realistic part of the sequel.

After their breakup Lara Jean starts to have feelings for John Ambrose. He’s no Peter Kavinsky, but I did develop a soft spot in my heart for John Ambrose. His big smiles at the sight of Lara Jean and his subtle reminders that chivalry isn’t dead made it obvious he loved her. But this only made it more upsetting when Lara Jean led him on, only to get back with Peter in the end. 

The only problem with John Ambrose was his severe lack of conversation topics other than reminiscing over elementary school. Every encounter started with “remember when…” We get it, you had a crush on each other when you were little, try asking a simple “what have you been up to?” I would have liked to get more background on him other than that he dressed up as a deviled egg for sixth grade Halloween. Although I liked the little fling these two had, it was obvious it wouldn’t last.

I wasn’t surprised when Lara Jean and Peter ended up together, but it didn’t have the closure that I needed. There was no mention of the unresolved fight that caused their break up less than 10 minutes ago. Maybe it’s just my stubborn personality, but ending a fight in “let’s never fight again” was almost as bad as them claiming to be ‘together forever’ two minutes into the movie. The flat plot was underwhelming considering they ended the movie in the same place they started. I was expecting more drama than I was given — leaving me slightly disappointed. 

As expected in rom-coms, the movie had obvious flaws, but the unrealistic depiction of high school and melodramatic relationships are what make the movie comical. The unrealistic drama drew me in —  even if I was on the verge of cringing the whole time.

The Photograph

By: Brynn Winkler

Based on its mushy trailer with shots of a lovestruck couple stealing sheepish glances across crowded rooms, I wasn’t expecting “The Photograph” to live up to one of the greatest romantic movies of all time. Though the casting of the movie was up to par with “The Notebook” and its soundtrack rivaled that of “A Star is Born,” the unfocused plot inhibited the Valentine’s Day hit from surpassing mediocrity.  

The soundtrack was a soulful collection of R&B oldies and trendy hits by artists like H.E.R. and Anderson .Paak, along with a sensual jazz score by Robert Glasper.

Because the film takes place in two different time periods and parts of the United States — jumping from 1980s Louisiana to present-day New York City — the soundtrack was key in connecting the two plots.

However, director Stella Meghie failed to fluidly merge the two plotlines — one about photographer Christina Eames and the other about her daughter Mae. Instead of intertwining the character’s stories to show the universality of human emotion and experience, the lack of focus hindered character development and took away any sense of suspense — I didn’t have to finish the movie to know the guy would get the girl in the end.

The movie opens up with a video of a 20-something-year-old Christina, and then jumps ahead to present-day New York where her daughter Mae, played by Issa Rae, and Michael, a reporter played by LaKeith Stanfield, are falling for each other. 

The movie continues to jump back and forth, and slowly the viewer realizes how the two plots intertwine — Michael is writing a story about the young love Christina left to pursue photography in New York.

About 45 minutes too late, it finally became clear that the main conflict in the plot was Mae reading a letter from her mother, who recently passed away, and realizing she didn’t want to make the same mistake of running away from love in her own life. But Meghie didn’t effectively present this to audiences, failing to include a well-flowing beginning, climax and falling action.

The real reason I remained invested in the movie was the sheer talent of the actors. Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield’s chemistry on screen was impressive, and Chanté Adams, who played young Christina, was remarkable at getting the audience on her side during her heart-wrenching journey. 

Michael’s brother, played by Lil Rel Howery, added some natural comedic relief about Michael’s “player” lifestyle that I wish I could have seen more of. The actors were able to shine despite the disastrous plot that tired too hard to get the two stories to mirror each other.

Ultimately, the likable and interesting characters kept me invested until the inevitable ending where Michael and Mae reunited and committed themselves to their relationship — although this cliché event had a modern twist: it took place in a crowd outside of a Kendrick Lamar concert.

With the genius soundtrack and casting, I was hoping to add this to my list of rom-com favorites — but the resulting product was disappointing.