Written By Avani Goswami
The Kissing Booth 2, which premiered on Netflix on July 24, and it feels like a fresher version of the first film, but it ran far too long to keep my interest.
The first film was based on a self-published Wattpad novel. The movie did incredibly well with fans, focusing primarily on Elle Evans (Joey King, The Act) juggling her best friend and his popular, handsome older brother who she formed feelings for.
This sequel kicks off with Elle entering senior year and recapping everything she’s done over the summer, which is mostly hanging out with her boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi, Euphoria). When he packs his bags for Harvard, Elle throws herself into other hobbies so she doesn’t seem too clingy. This results in her spending even more time with her best friend Lee (Joel Courtney, Super 8) and his girlfriend Rachel (Meganne Young, Black Sails). This eventually causes some problems between Lee and Rachel, because Rachel feels that the two of them can never find any time alone with Elle always tagging along.
Third-wheeling is still the least of Elle’s problems as she and Noah spend more time apart. Though they share a few good moments while they can’t be together, both of them have someone else in their lives that they seem to be interested in. New kid Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez, Embeds) captures Elle’s eye and the two share more than one almost-kiss, while Noah begins hanging out with the seemingly perfect Harvard student, Chloe (Maisie-Richardson Sellers, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow). Dealing with long distance becomes a big issue for Elle and Noah, and Elle is convinced Noah is cheating on her for most of the film. I feel like it’s clear neither of them were totally invested in their relationship.
Besides the love triangles forming, Noah tries to convince Elle to apply to Harvard. This goes against one of her best friend rules with Lee, because they agreed to go to the same college together, UC Berkeley. This causes another problem between Elle and Lee, and even Elle and Noah as Elle becomes increasingly unsure of Noah’s true feelings. But Elle decides to apply for a dance competition anyway, one with a fifty thousand dollar prize that can help cover some of her college costs, especially for Harvard. The end of the film leaves us on a cliffhanger, with Elle deciding over the two schools and lying to both her best friend and her boyfriend about getting in, which seems like the perfect set up for a third film. Lucky us.
Another side-plot this film included was an LGBTQ+ couple, with Elle’s peer Ollie (Judd Krok, The Kissing Booth) and dorky senior class president Miles (Evan Hengst, The Red Sea Diving Resort). It is rushed and underdeveloped, but it was really sweet to watch. It was good to see at least some more diversity in the sequel, even though I would’ve liked to see more of the pair.
Overall, I’d say some of the major issues with the film are its run time and the amount of complications introduced. The movie drags on a bit and the problems are stretched out to the point of being slightly repetitive. It seems like there was a new problem at every turn, and they were far from resolved by the film’s conclusion. Though Elle and Marco part ways, he’s clearly not okay with that, and she still has lingering feelings for him. Noah is not the best boyfriend throughout the movie, and the ending, in which they came together, seems rushed. But I still think the film was a bit better than the first, mostly because it had less cringe-worthy moments, although they were still there, and because it depicted somewhat healthier relationships. In the first, Noah was very possessive and temperamental, and even Lee allowed Elle little freedom to do what she wanted. But this film gave Elle more power for herself and I can appreciate that.
I’m already picturing the next film in my mind: more of the first film’s back and forth between Lee and Noah, with the new, additional complication of Marco. I’m glad The Kissing Booth 2 was more watchable than the original, even if that doesn’t say a ton. I anticipate they’ll have more cute, cheesy moments in the third installation, but hopefully they’ll also have a shorter runtime.
