Rated: TV-14
Now Streaming on Netflix The 2018 Netflix teen comedy The Kissing Booth wasn’t the most well received original film on the service. Panned by critics for various reasons not worth mentioning, the main one was that many felt the film was full of clichés and was unoriginal. Honestly, it is easy to understand this sentiment, as it does feel like every teen trope ever wrapped in colorful, modern packaging. But for me, there is fun to be had with the film. The way to do that is to enjoy how wonderfully over-the-top it is. It feels like a satire of teen comedies rather than a genuine one. Nothing in the film is taken seriously, and the characters even seem to know that their story is ridiculous. This makes the film much more entertaining and manages to deliver a surprising amount of flat out hilarious moments. So, since this was a massively successful film despite the critical disdain, it’s no surprise that Netflix would want to cash in on this with a sequel. After the events of the first film, Elle (Joey King) is disappointed by the departure of her boyfriend Noah (Jacob Elordi) for Harvard, but is confident that they can make their relationship work. For now, she must go through her senior year with her lifelong bestie, and Noah’s younger brother, Lee (Joel Courtney). But things become complicated when the two decide to bring back their Kissing Booth business for the school’s upcoming homecoming fundraiser. Elle is pressured by her classmates to hire new kid Marco (Taylor Perez) for the booth, as many find him extremely attractive. She is also faced with a decision on what school to go to. Noah wants her to apply to Harvard so that they can be together, but she and Lee had already planned to attend the same university their mothers became friends at. All of these decisions force Elle to confront the direction her life is going and whether changing her plans is worth possibly losing the people closest to her. Like the first film, The Kissing Booth 2 is highly over-the-top. The characters are all crazy exaggerations of typical high school traits. This brings some more genuinely hilarious moments that make the first half of the film very entertaining. However, this sequel can’t manage to recapture the consistent heart of the first one thanks to a bereft of subplots and an extended runtime that sadly overstays its welcome. But let’s focus on the positive first. Again, just like the first film, this one plays like a satire of teen comedies. Everything here is so ridiculous that there really is no way to take any of it seriously. There are various side characters that are literally walking clichés, existing for no other reason than to be parodies of high school students. This leads to some of the most hilarious moments in the film, solely because of the gags the film has at the expense of its own target audience. Much of the humor also comes from the chemistry of King and Courtney. As their characters are lifelong friends, the two do another amazing job portraying this. They really feel like they have been friends their whole lives, and it’s actually adorable watching their interactions. The duo works so well together, and its their performances that make the movie so watchable even in its low points. However, the movie’s pure entertainment factor is eventually undone by its own runtime. This one clocks in at 132 minutes, 21 minutes longer than the previous film. A movie like this doesn’t really have a reason for being this long, and this film doesn’t do anything to surpass this expectation. As lovable as the characters are, the story they’re in begins to slow down around the 50 minute mark, and it becomes hard to keep up with what follows. This also isn’t helped by the number of subplots within the story. The first film had a simple plot involving Elle coming to terms with her growing feelings for Noah. This one, however, has multiple subplots. This wouldn’t be a problem, except that many of these don’t really help the main plot at any point. One subplot involves a classmate of Elle’s trying to express his love for another boy; and while this does lead to a really heartwarming scene towards the end, it doesn't do anything to push Elle’s story forward and ends up feeling mostly useless. The Kissing Booth 2 does its best to recreate the feel of the first movie, and somewhat succeeds thanks to more of the crazy satirical tone and lovable cast the previous one worked so well with. But with an overlong runtime and several unnecessary subplots, it ends up feeling like a slog the more it drags on. It is good for more laugh-out-loud moments, but can’t quite prove why a movie about teenage love needs to be this long. Regardless, with a third film already in post-production, I’m eager to see where the story will go from here.
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