Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Still Out Of My League’ On Netflix, The Quirky Sequel To The Italian Teen Weepie

Earlier this year, Out of My League, a teen weepie out of Italy, hit Netflix and charmed with its quirky leading lady and her struggle with cystic fibrosis. A mere few months later, we’ve now been given the sequel, the aptly-titled Still Out of My League, which follows Marta as she navigates the dating world following her breakup with the dreamy Arturo. We’re here to let you know if this sequel is worth your time, or if you’re totally out of its league. 

STILL OUT OF MY LEAGUE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: It’s hard to believe, but it’s been a year since Marta (Ludovica Francesconi) fell hard and fast for the dreamy Arturo (Giuseppe Maggio). She’s since ended things, though, as she realized they were just too different. Marta is now seeing Gabriele (Giancarlo Commare), a sweet artist who thinks the world of her. She likes to give him a hard time, and they have a lot of fun together, even if she still thinks of Arturo from time to time. Meanwhile, Marta’s roommates and BFFs, Federica (Gaja Masciale) and Jacopo (Jozef Gjura) embark on their own journeys; Federica starts a fancy (if shady) new job and finds herself the target of mean girls, while Jacopo searches for a worthy romantic partner.

Things are going well, with the exception of the occasional health hiccup – Marta still needs a lung transplant – when Gabriele gets the opportunity to go to Paris. Marta pushes him to go, and the two of them begin a long distance relationship, a choice that proves much more difficult than either of them anticipated. As Marta and Gabriele face reality and wonder what the future holds, she also prepares for what life might look like without cystic fibrosis dictating her every move. The story stops just as it gets going, too – just as Marta heads into surgery, we’re hit with a ‘to be continued’ card. Only time will reveal the fate of our leading lady, her love, and everyone else.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Still Out of My League will evoke flicks like JJ+E, Confessions of an Invisible Girl, A Walk to Remember, and The Fault in Our Stars.

Performance Worth Watching: Federica (Gaja Masciale) steals the show this time around, getting more of a chance to shine in this sequel than she did in the first installment of this quirky story. She continues to fill the best friend role beautifully, but she also gets more of her own story here, starting a shady new job and having to hold her own opposite some mean girls at the office. Masciale is equal parts poise and comedic timing, more of a leading lady type than a best friend, so it feels appropriate that she gets so much more screen time here.

Memorable Dialogue: “Opposites attract, but in the end, they break up,” Marta tells us, as she explains why she ended things with Arturo.

Sex and Skin: There’s some under-the-covers stuff and a little sexy dance, but Still Out of My League keeps it pretty tame.

Our Take: I wasn’t a huge fan of the first film in the series, so perhaps I’m biased, but Still Out of My League is a bit of a bummer. Not necessarily because of its content, but because it squanders such a delightful young cast. The film leans hard into the same beats as its predecessor to create drama (the ups and downs of Marta’s illness, etc.) and doesn’t seem interested in doing anything particularly fresh, despite the fact that there’s a real chance here to shake things up and make it remotely memorable. Still Out of My League is extremely predictable and repetitive, eliminating any real stakes because we can guess where things are going. The film also clocks in at just under 2 hours, dragging scenes out much longer than they should go on, and filling up minutes with unnecessary eye candy.

While Still Out of My League is indeed a treat for the eyes – the use of light and the art direction are just as lovely as they were the first time around – all the vibrant aesthetics in the world can’t make up for a deeply lackluster script. There are certainly some moments of growth for our characters (Marta’s roommates and BFFs in particular get some nice scenes, even if they feel thematically out of place at times) but in the end, we’re back in a predictable emotional position. Based on the closing title card, too, we’ll be seeing a third installment of the Out of My League series. If it’s more of the same, I’m not so sure what the point is.

Our Call: SKIP IT. Still Out of My League boasts a big heart and a cast full of electrifying chemistry, but the story’s lack of focus and lengthy runtime turns the whole thing into a bit of an aimless drag.

Jade Budowski is a freelance writer with a knack for ruining punchlines, hogging the mic at karaoke, and thirst-tweeting. Follow her on Twitter: @jadebudowski.

Stream Still Out of My League on Netflix