Following the response to the original back in 2018, The Kissing Booth 2, a sequel to Netflix's original teen romantic comedy featuring Joey King and chaotic high school stories about love and friendship, is now on the streaming service.
While there have been some mixed reviews about the plot, which seems unrealistic or even annoying due to the wrong decisions the main characters keep making, if you go in with lower expectations and understand this is just a teenage love story, you might actually find a lot to enjoy in The Kissing Booth 2.
Based on the novel of the same name by Beth Reekles, The Kissing Booth 2 -- once again written and directed by filmmaker Vince Marcello -- is a continuation of the life of high school student Elle Evans, played by King, who just had the most romantic summer of her life with her bad-boy heart-throb boyfriend Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi), who's also the brother of Lee (Joel Courtney), her best friend since childhood.
However now, Noah is off to college on the East Coast at Harvard University and Elle is also heading back to high school for her senior year. For the first time, Elle's having a hard time juggling a long-distance relationship and planning her dream college along with attempting to enter a dance tournament for money. However, there are also new complications brought on by the arrival of a handsome and charismatic new schoolmate named Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez). At the same time, Elle begins to grow suspicious of Noah's close friendship with seemingly perfect college girl Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers). Elle then has to decide how much she trusts Noah and to whom her heart truly belongs.
The Kissing Booth 2 has nearly everything you could think of in a girly teenage romcom movie -- the mean girls at school, hot guys with muscles, rich and poor kids, cars and motorcycles, California beaches, a prom night and a dancing contest. Watching this movie can easily make you feel like you are rewatching The O.C. from the early 2000s all over again.
Just like in the previous film, we still have the comedic beats which will likely hit some fans of this type of movie. If you enjoyed the first movie and you liked those characters or what they gave us, then I think you will at least have fun with this sequel. Since it's upbeat, silly and heartfelt at times, there are moments that are going to resonate with viewers.
A scene from The Kissing Booth 2. (Photo: imdb.com)
King is definitely a rising teen actress and she did a pretty good job at portraying a confused teenager who has just experienced first love as she learns to handle all these complicated matters while growing up. You may remember King in the role of a kid in 2003's horror flick The Conjuring. However, seeing her old enough to play a teenage girl kissing a boy is a reminder of just how old we have become. The chemistry between King and Elordi is also believable. The movie does a good job at depicting a bittersweet long-distance relationship and the miscommunications that can happen, especially the intimate phone calls and FaceTime moments.
Although parts of the movie might feel a bit unrealistic, and especially with all the troubles Elle causes to people around her, this may annoy some audiences. Yet, in the end, it's a movie that is aimed especially at teenagers. The movie shows that sometimes people have a hard time communicating but that in the end, it can help solve their issues. There are also a few subplots in The Kissing Booth 2, whether it's the relationship between Elle and Marco, Lee and his girlfriend, or a gay couple that Elle is always rooting for, which I think makes this film a little more interesting than the first. Moreover, the fact that the sequel has added other people and stories in between to give audiences more to see is better than just focusing on Lee, Elle and Noah.
Despite over two hours running time, the movie ends abruptly. With its open ending and a few unanswered questions, I suspect that there might be a third movie on the way as they left something to explore in another film. And if that's true, I'm not too sure if it's a good idea.
- The Kissing Booth 2
- Starring Joey King, Jacob Elordi, Joel Courtney, Taylor Zakhar Perez
- Directed by Vince Marcello
- Now streaming on Netflix
