REVIEW: The Kissing Booth 2 – Snoozefest or Makeout Sesh?

Netflix is on a roll with its original content. The Kissing Booth is no exception, but can The Kissing Booth 2 live up to the original? 

The Kissing Booth tells the story of Elle (Joey King), Lee (Joel Courtney), and his super hot, dealing with all his anger issues brother, Noah (Jacob Elordi). Elle and Lee have been BFFs ever since the day they were born, literally. Growing up together they created their own set of special rules. One of which is Elle is never allowed to date anyone who is related to Lee.

One thing leads to another. Elle is then forced to choose between her life long friendship with Lee or her budding feelings about Noah. SPOILER ALERT – she gets both!

Is It As Good As The Original The Kissing Booth?

In the astutely named sequel, The Kissing Booth 2, Elle is hit with harder challenges as Noah heads off to Harvard (I will never understand how) and Lee begins his own relationship with Rachel. The film touches on the difficultly of a long-distance relationship and the insecurity that can come along with it. I mean, it doesn’t help that both Elle and Noah make hot, new friends and are living in different time zones creating not only physical distances but emotional as well. On top of that, Elle and Lee have to deal with the normal struggles of their senior year!

Elle has to figure which college she wants to attend in the fall having to choose, once again, between her friendship and life long promises with Lee and the future she wants to have with Noah. This is where things start to get clunky. 

A Narrative Stretched Too Thin

Instead of focusing on one or two major storylines leading to a glorious climactic ending the film is overzealous. It focuses on way too many things.  Noah and Elle dealing with long-distance. Lee and Rachel’s relationship struggles. Elle choosing between colleges. Elle trying to figure out how to afford college. A new “friendship” with snacktime Marco. Finally, it brings in winning a DDR competition for $50,000 in order to afford ½ a semester at the college of her choice. The film is so long with a running time of 130 mins. With the overwhelming amount of story-lines that barely get resolved (if at all) it becomes hard to choose what to care about so you end up caring about nothing.

Well, that’s a lie. SPOILER ALERT I refuse to believe Chloe’s earring story and I’m hoping more about that comes to light in the 3rd film heading our way in 2021. 

In the end, The Kissing Booth 2 seriously suffered from the sophomore slump and one can only hope the secretly filmed in tandem The Kissing Booth 3 redeems it from the darkness.

What did you think of the film? Let me know in the comments below.

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