One of the most celebrated and anticipated days of the year is the 14th of February, which is Valentine’s Day. However, over the years, we have started feeling that our love for this day might be going down since everyone is so hell-bent on commercializing it as much as possible. That is why someone, somewhere, was desperate enough to make a sequel to a movie called “Squared Love,” which was already so bad, to begin with. The actors’ lack of chemistry in “Squared Love All Over Again” spilled out of the screen and made us yawn through a narrative that was definitely not about their love for each other or for themselves. In fact, if we had to sum it up, we would say that this movie could be a child’s version of what happens after “I love you” is said.
“Squared Love All Over Again” reminded us of another movie we had seen quite a while back, called “Under the Amalfi Sun,” which was just as boring, but at least, it built on the relationship of the leads and addressed their actual problems instead of shifting the focus from them altogether. What we are trying to say is that, though the description claimed that “Squared Love All Over Again” was about the problems in Enzo and Monika’s relationship due to the latter’s new job, it felt like we were looking more at a problematic job than anything else, not to mention how hard we rolled our eyes at the characters’ surprise that it was all “scripted.” Anyway, let us get into the events of the movie, and you can judge whether our dislike for it is justified or not.
Spoilers Ahead
Monika’s New Job
Monika and Enzo are back from their vacation, and with the former’s new-found fame, they are making heads turn everywhere. Monika goes back to her job and finds that she is something of a hit, with all the parents wanting their children in her class. The principal, though annoyed, is not against it, as he finds that her presence is good publicity for their school, as well as the fact that she offers to teach extra classes free of charge. As for Enzo, he finds the doors closing for him wherever he goes. Since his breakup with Alicja, who has been repeatedly touted as his “sugar mommy,” everyone has woken up to the reality that he is unemployable.
Meanwhile, Andrzej suggests to Monika that she do a final interview, clearing the air about her alter-ego Klaudia and putting her to rest once and for all. That takes Monika to Rafal, a host whose talk show is taking a dip in the ratings—that is until the former calls him out openly for the way he treats his guests. Turns out, that really endeared the audience to her, and getting her on board would mean that Rafal would be able to host a children’s reality show, a job he desperately wants. Rafal convinces Monika with some subtle emotional blackmail and, as she admits to her father, her desire to keep trying new things. She was reluctant initially, but when she found that Enzo’s employment could last a while, it also became a financial issue that she earn more money for the house.
As for Enzo, he wants to find a job soon enough but discovers that he has very few real-life skills and is particularly unemployable, even outside of the entertainment industry. While Monika starts her job with a few hiccups, Enzo’s joblessness starts taking a toll on their relationship. It doesn’t help that Enzo has never really gotten along with Rafal. During this time, Bazyli, Monika’s dad, takes him out to give him some sort of motivation to figure out his next step, which is how they end up working together in his garage since Enzo is an auto enthusiast.
Back at Monika’s job, she is on a spree of putting people in their place, and she tells one of the judges to tone down their meanness with the children. We may or may not have cared about that, but can we say that Bazyli’s romantic arc with Aleksandra was one of the few saving graces of the film? They honestly had better chemistry than Monika and Enzo, and in fact, the sequel should have focused on them more instead of showing us the leads’ inconsequential problems, the worst of which was that Monika missed two dinners that Enzo cooked for her, one because she called Rafal’s phone to inform him, which he didn’t pick up, and the other because she actually forgot.
The first time, Rafal takes her to an orphanage to spend a day with the children. It really comes across as a date, and we believed for a while that Monika should dump Enzo for this guy. The second dinner was Enzo trying to reconcile after the fight over the previous debacle, but Monika got caught up in work and forgot about it. But one good thing that happens for Enzo during this time is that his video, which he shot in Bazyli’s garage and was rejected for a TV show, is uploaded online, and it looks like the start of a promising opportunity.
Bazyli And Aleksandra’s Love Story
When these two people meet in “Squared Love All Over Again,” Aleksandra accuses Bazyli of doing a shoddy job of fixing her car, which she claims caused her to lose a race. They placed a bet that Bazyli would fix her car again and make it good enough for her to cross the finish line. It is obvious right away that Aleksandra is more interested in the mechanic than the car, but Bazyli takes a minute to catch up. However, as she keeps visiting him to check on the progress of her car, he finds himself falling for her. She tells him about her fear of driving again, and when they are on a date, he tells her that he believes he cannot be “fixed,” which is why he is running away from the relationship. Later, he admits to Monika that he has feelings for Aleksandra and might even love her, which he never thought was possible after he lost his wife. Monika gives him her blessing and tells him to go for it, which he does. Honestly, the one thing that made this couple so much better than Monika and Enzo was the chemistry they shared, not to mention how much fun it was just seeing them together. We really wish they had gotten more screen time.
‘Squared Love All Over Again’ Ending Explained: Does Monika Expose The Rigged Reality Show?
Rafal takes Monika to a yacht to spend the day with her, which is also for some photo ops that would serve as good publicity for the show. He tells her that he likes her more than a friend. We saw that there were moments when she was affected by him, but her loyalty to Enzo was making her confused, especially since they had been fighting a lot. However, when she overhears his conversation that it was all just a show to create buzz around the show and that it was rigged, to begin with, Monika makes her decision about her priorities. She decides to leave the job, but her agent reminds her that she is under contract, and she just has one more episode to shoot, so she must suck it up and get to it.
While Monika is debating her next step, Enzo is shown the mirror by one of his friends, which pushes him out of his insecurity regarding Rafal and Monika. He finally stops avoiding her and tells her that he is scared that she will fall in love with a guy who is like what he had been previously. But Monika assures him that she was always in love with him, and they reconcile.
As for the reality show, on the day of it, they bring all the children on the stage and talk about how it is unfair to judge someone so young for who is the ‘best.’ While there is agreement from the audience and disagreement from the Showmakers, Monika and Rafal have a confrontation about the show being rigged and him manipulating the children of the orphanage to do what he wants them to. This is caught on camera by Enzo, and Monika announces that Rafal will be donating his entire salary to the orphanage, just like her, and that it will be his last TV appearance. It’s not like Rafal rigged the show by himself, but he is a convenient villain for the movie that doesn’t make much sense, to begin with. “Squared Love All Over Again” ends with Enzo asking Monika to marry him and Bazyli and Aleksandra getting together as a couple. Only one of these was romantic.
What Doesn’t Work For ‘Squared Love All Over Again’ Film?
“Squared Love All Over Again” is pure Valentine’s Day desperation for moviemakers. They had to churn out something, and this was their pick. That is the vibe we got because there was never anything likable in the prequel that warranted a continuation of the story. We are sure Poland has better movies for us, and we would like to see some of them next time. If we had to say one positive thing about the movie, other than the arc of Bazyli and Aleksandra, it would be that it is funny how Enzo, aka Stefan, played by Mateusz Banasiuk, looks so funny with his full teeth showing a smile and so brooding when he is squinting his eyes. The difference is charming but not enough that we recommend this movie to our friends, who will love us a little less if we make them watch this. It’s a skip for us, and we hope that next year’s Valentine’s Day brings us some better fare in life and on OTT.
