The story
Elle Evans is a typical teenager who is wading through the curveballs that life throws at her. Just, her life gets way too awkward after her boyfriend leaves for Harvard — things just don’t seem the same anymore.
The Review
Elle Evans (Joey King) has a seemingly challenging Senior year ahead — she’s got to juggle academics with a long-distance relationship with boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi), who left California for bigger pursuits. While she’s got Lee (Joel Courtney), Noah’s brother, to help her wade through a rather challenging phase, things get tougher with the entry of another college heartthrob, Marco. The chiseled, curly haired Marco seems to another woe in Elle and Noah’s precarious love story. Long distance brings forth a volley of insecurities (which is normal, by the way!), and as much as Elle tries, she simply can’t seem to keep those niggling thoughts away. More so, because Noah’s new pal, Chloe, a dangerously drop dead gorgeous brunette model, at Harvard begins to evoke bouts of envy and paranoia in Elle. She heads to Boston, only to unravel something in Noah’s room that gets things to spiral out of control.
On the other hand, real awkwardness begins to brew between Lee and Elle, and the former’s triggered girlfriend Rachel begins to feel suffocated around Elle’s presence. Rachel DOES have a point though: Elle’s breezy rapport with Lee, and third-wheeling tendencies are not something an already irked girlfriend can shrug off as a platonic relationship — though it really is.
The final parts of the movie essentially see Elle navigating through a web of common teenage woes, the point of it all is to push herself to do some soul searching and figure out what is it that she really wants.
Teenage rom-coms, although cliched, often resonate with deep seated fears and insecurities that most of us carry all through adulthood. There’s a part of us that’s terrified of losing the ones we love. So irrespective of how far you have come from your teenage years, the plot somehow tugs at your heartstrings. The ending finds Elle standing at the crossroads: Will she go ahead with what her heart yearns for? Well, only a third part can tell.
While the movie isn’t terrible in its entirety, the sequel pretty much falls flat on many fronts. So much so, even the drama, chaos and relatable despair don’t justify the need for the sequel.
If you have a thing for typical high school rom-coms, chances are, the “Kissing Booth 2” is on your binge-watch list. But, just in case you are in two minds, here’s a piece of advice: Let go if you don’t wish to settle for average.
Platform: Netflix
Title: Kissing Both 2
Director: Vince Marcello
Cast: Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi
Language: English
Rating: 2/5