In one installment of her When Romance Met Comedy column, our own Caroline Siede wrote, “To All The Boys combines the stylized cinematography of a Wes Anderson movie with the heart of a John Hughes film and the spirit of the best of the 1990s high school rom-coms.” That’s about as good a summation of the appeal of one of 2018's most welcome surprises one could want. But there’s one thing missing from that list. Yes, the candy-colored landscape, appealing symmetry, bittersweet heartache, and fake-dating hijinks are the main draw, but it’s also a terrific story about sisters—and Kitty (Anna Cathcart), the youngest and funniest of the Covey sisters, deserves her due.
See, this trailer knows what’s up.
Those who’ve read the Jenny Han trilogy on which this winning franchise is based will probably protest such an assessment of the charms of this second trailer. They would perhaps assert that the real draw is the extended introduction of John Ambrose McClaren (Jordan Fisher), another recipient of the one of several purloined love letters Lara Jean (Lana Condor) wrote to her crushes, none of which were intended to see the light of day. So far, those letters have gotten her a good friend (Trezzo Mahoro’s Lucas), closure with impossible crush Josh (Israel Broussard), and Peter, a fake-boyfriend turned real-boyfriend (Noah Centineo). And now JAM comes calling, too.
And who mailed the letters that led to this windfall? Kitty, that’s who. Show some respect. Netflix certainly will, when To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You arrives on February 12.