The Kissing Booth: Review

I am not sure if someone here has already written about this, but this is a great movie if you want a romantic kind of teenage movie.

This is directed by Vince Marcello and story by Beth Reekles. The plot centers around Elle Evans (Joey King), a high school student who has been best friends with Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney, who I'll always remember for his guest appearance on Fox's short-lived APB), helped by the fact that they were born on the same day. That, along with the death of Elle's mother, solidified a bond between the two best friends. To help keep their friendship together, Elle and Lee made a set of rules, with Lee taking one incredibly seriously: his older brother Noah (Jacob Elordi) is off-limits. But despite this, Elle can't help but develop a crush on Noah, one that she keeps in secret for fear of hurting Lee. But as Elle begins to hit puberty and attract the attention of her male classmates, she learns that her crush may not be as one-sided as she believed, as she learns that Noah has been warning her classmates not to try and take advantage of the inexperienced Elle.

Overall, The Kissing Booth is a harmlessly fluffy teen flick, with solid acting and an entertaining plot. Joey King does well as our inexperienced, but a fiercely independent heroine and Courtney and Elordi have good chemistry as brothers as well as with King in their respective roles as Elle's best friend and secret lover.

The film's plot, though, opened itself up to much controversy as of its release, with many proclaiming the movie as sexist and "worshiping of the male gaze". I can see merit in these claims, but feel they are unwarranted once you see the movie fully. While Noah's protective actions regarding Elle at first appearance are controlling and demeaning, and Lee's anger at Elle dating Noah come off as selfish, the movie makes it clear that their actions are not healthy or OK, on multiple occasions, Elle tells Noah off for being overbearing and short-tempered in his attempts to "protect" her, and the film's climax includes an incredibly cathartic scene of Elle confronting Lee for trying to tell her who she could and couldn't fall in love with, even outright telling him that if he couldn't respect the choices she made in her life, she couldn't have him in her life.

The film also has a surprisingly realistic conclusion, with Elle reflecting on her relationship with Noah and admitting that, as much as she feels about him, it might not work out or last long-term. With so many teen films out there depicting high school romances as being be-all-end-all, it's refreshing to see a movie address that high school loves may not work out as one wants them to.

Well, Netflix announced as sequel of The Kissing Booth. Will see how their relationship came out since Noah is already in college. Will they really workout or no? Let’s see.

Initial release of the sequel will be on 24 July 2020 on Netlfix and it is directed by Vince Marcello based on The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance; by Beth Reekles.

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