When I first heard that Netflix had greenlit To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You, and that said movie would introduce us to John Ambrose McClaren, I audibly pfffft’d. It’d been a while since I first read the books but I was a solid Peter Kavinsky gal, through and through. Nothing could sway me. NOTHING. Not the trailers, not the character posters, not even beautiful boy Jordan Fisher who stars as Mr McClaren. Then I watched the sequel and fell in love with John Ambrose. Oops. I mean, I’d absolutely feel terrible about it… but Lana Condor and Noah Centineo feel the same way. No joke, they told me themselves.
To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You picks up right where the first flick dropped off. Lara Jean (Condor) is only just going on her first date with Peter (Centineo). She’s nervous because this is her first ever relationship, and she’s feeling a lot. But when John Ambrose, another recipient of her old love letters, re-enters her life, your gal is torn. You really can’t blame her. John Ambrose is a sweet, thoughtful piano-playing angel. And Peter Kavinsky is Peter Kavinsky.
I got to chat to Lana and Noah over the phone about the movie. Obviously, I asked whether they’re Team Peter or Team John Ambrose, but more on that later.
“Jordan Fisher is so talented,” Lana says. “To be honest, he had really big shoes to fill and he slid in and surpassed like anything. When people watch the movie, John Ambrose and Jordan Fisher, they just pop off the screen. So I was really excited to work with him because I just thought he was so talented.”
Noah agreed, adding that John Ambrose was such a cool plot point to challenge Lara Jean and Peter’s love story.
I’m about to delve into spoiler territory now so this will be your last warning. Please, for the love of John Ambrose, scroll away if you haven’t watched the movie yet.
As Lara Jean and Peter spend more time together, Lara Jean becomes extremely aware that they haven’t had sex yet. At one point, Lara Jean literally tells Peter that she knows he and his ex, Gen (Emilija Baranac), used to do it a lot. So does he miss… sex?
“Is there a void in your life?” she asks Peter. Lara Jean hasn’t had sex yet, and she’s not quite ready to do it either.
What follows is an awkward but endearing conversation.
“I think that if it’s uncomfortable and awkward to watch then it was realistic,” Lana says, “because I know that conversations that I’ve had when I was younger with my parents, for example – you’re kind of sitting there and you’re cringing and you’re kind of uncomfortable. But ultimately, I think communication in any relationship is key. So I think that was important to have in the movie because it showed that we talked about the uncomfortable things.”
“Yeah absolutely,” Noah says. “I’d also like to take note of how, yes, it was an uncomfortable conversation but I think they both fully accepted the fact that it was an uncomfortable conversation. The way that Peter dealt with it, with your [Lara Jean’s] moment of voicing how you feel … He could’ve been insecure about it. There were a lot of different ways that that could go if he wasn’t Peter Kavinsky. So I think taking note of the compassion and the tenderness – even though it was awkward, it was still respectful of each other’s places.”
As for the aforementioned ‘team’ question, Lana sighs deeply.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked this question,” she laughs. I felt so bad. “I think it depends on my mood. This morning I woke up and was in a Team John Ambrose mood.”
Same.
“Ultimately, the winning team is Lara Jean,” she says.
Noah, on the other hand, had a pretty interesting answer. “I’m like, I’m Team Peter for right now. But I’m definitely Team John Ambrose for later,” he says.
“I feel like if we met Lara Jean in, gosh, seven years,” Lana adds, “John Ambrose would be way more her person.”
To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You is streaming now on Netflix.
You can check out our interview with Lana and Noah below.
