Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Unnecessary sequel to terrible romcom has some language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 13+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Squared Love All Over Again
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
SQUARED LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN begins with the assumption that the audience will remember the forgettable details of the 2021 prequel, Squared Love. In that feature, Monika (Adrianna Chlebicka), an elementary school teacher, secretly moonlights as a successful model to raise money for her dad's failing car shop. No one recognized her resemblance to the famous model somehow. She fell for Enzo (Mateusz Banasiuk), celebrity journalist/model and playboy. Enzo has dumped his girlfriend/powerful boss. As the action begins in the new film, happy couple Enzo and Monika return from a vacation, she dogged by fans and he not so much. She resumes her teaching job (no modeling mentioned) and he learns he can't get a job because his spurned lover has blackballed him from showbiz. He languishes away, couch potato-style, just as Monika is asked to co-host a children's talent show with Rafal (Mikolaj Roznwerski), another handsome jerk. She soon learns that Rafal and the show's producers are plotting to cheat the kids and drum up publicity by creating the illusion of a romance between the hosts. The show's widespread PR campaign makes Enzo jealous. Can Monika and Enzo get back on track?
Is It Any Good?
Squared Love All Over Again is a ham-handed, uninspired, dumb, graceless, amateur exercise, a crass effort to cash in on the success of Squared Love. The earlier movie, made by the same director with the same lead actors, was itself underwhelming and often ridiculous. Without a helpful recap of the previous film's unbelievable premise, the new film starts with people asking for Monika's autograph and we don't know why. She's still with Enzo, the egomaniacal celebrity journalist/male model, itself an unbelievable fact.
But there are plenty of unbelievable things here. A guy somehow sneaks past security at a network TV show, steals a camera, and secretly tapes and broadcasts a private conversation. A woman learns she's going to be late for dinner with her boyfriend and doesn't bother calling him because if she called him, as any normal person would, the plot wouldn't work. The filmmakers seem to forget parts of their own film. A girl suggests Enzo do a YouTube show to get around his blacklisted status. Great idea, says Enzo, and that's the last we hear of it. Don't waste your time on this mess.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about all the ways this story feels forced and slapped together. Does it make sense? How could it be improved?
When the plot depends on manufactured conflicts -- someone is going to be late but doesn't bother to make a quick call on her cellphone -- does it affect the audience's response? If yes, in what way?
Do you think it takes creativity to tell a story well? Does this movie demonstrate any creativity? What about this story works? What doesn't?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : February 13, 2023
- Cast : Adrianna Chlebicka , Mateusz Banasiuk , Mikolaj Roznwerski
- Director : Filip Zylber
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Romance
- Run time : 99 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : March 1, 2023
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