LOL 2.0: what is the sequel to Lisa Azuelos’ generational comedy worth?
Without Christa Theret but with Sophie Marceau as inspired as ever, the director proves that she remains as connected to the youth of 2026 as to those of 2009.
When we loved LOL, when we see the impact that this generational comedy continues to have on today’s youth who were not even born at the time of its release in 2009 (and are filmed as if on a pilgrimage on the bench where the characters met), we inevitably dreaded the idea of a sequel. Was Lisa Azuelos going to embrace the youth of 2026 with the same accuracy as that of 2009? Was she not going to try to run in vain after the perfect balance of the planets which had taken place at that moment: LOL recounting a turning point in the lives of adolescents, that of the emergence of social networks and “smart” mobile phones which would profoundly transform their interactions?
Lisa Azuelos was the first to ask these questions, especially since although she had signed a US remake with Demi Moore and Miley Cyrus in 2012, she did not herself initiate this sequel but responded by reappropriating it to a proposal from Pathé who wanted to turn LOL into a series. For Lisa Azuelos, it could only be a film. But which film? We come back to the same questions again and again and even more so when she learns that Christa Theret, her interpreter of Lola, does not want to be there before even reading the script.
On arrival, obviously Christa Theret is missing. But her decision actually distanced Lisa Azuelos from the trap of making LOL 2.0 an LOL encore. Based on the little sister of Lola’s character who has grown up (Thaïs Alessandrin), the director changes generation and is interested here in the 25-year-old, while respecting what constitutes the DNA of LOL: capturing the joys and the pangs of the passing of time and its impact on the favorite subject of all her films, mother-daughter relationships.
In My Baby, Lisa Azuelos told the story of how a mother copes as best she can – and rather badly than well – with the departure of her last child from the family nest. In LOL 2.0, she is interested in the return home – following a romantic breakup which goes hand in hand with a professional breakup – of a 25-year-old girl and its repercussions on her mother Anne, aged 55, who was beginning to appreciate the freedom of a solo life and at the same time must also come to terms with the fact of soon becoming a grandmother (her son played by Victor Belmondo preparing to become a father).
Certainly, LOL 2.0 does not rise to the height of the first LOL. The element of surprise and the magic that goes with it have disappeared. But Lisa Azuelos still succeeds in her bet. Because she has lost none of her connection with today’s youth. Because like in the original film (which saw the debut of Pierre Niney or Félix Moati), she worked hard to bring together a cast full of new faces. Because Françoise Fabien and Alexandre Astier – who reprise their respective roles as Anne’s mother and ex – are still just as tasty.
But also and above all because Sophie Marceau proves once again that, since La Boum, she is never as irresistible as in generational comedies, going from laughter to tears, love at first sight (for the character played by Vincent Elbaz, also impeccable) as well as in rants with unparalleled virtuosity. LOL 2.0 does not reinvent the genre but its undeniable charm has everything to appeal to a large family audience.
By Lisa Azuelos. With Sophie Marceau, Thaïs Alessandrin, Victor Belmondo… Duration: 1h45. Released February 11, 2026
