The Kissing Booth 2

The Kissing Booth 2
Official release poster
Directed by	Vince Marcello
Written by	Vince Marcello Jay Arnold
Based on	The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance by Beth Reekles
Produced by	Ed Glauser Andrew Cole-Bulgin Vince Marcello Michele Weisler
Starring	Joey King Joel Courtney Jacob Elordi Maisie Richardson-Sellers Taylor Perez Molly Ringwald
Cinematography	Anastas N. Michos
Edited by	Paul Millspaugh
Music by	Patrick Kirst
Production company	Komixx Entertainment
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24)
Running time	131 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Kissing Booth 2 is a 2020 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Vince Marcello, from a screenplay by Marcello and Jay Arnold. The film is a direct sequel to the 2018 film The Kissing Booth. Based on the novel The Kissing Booth 2: Going the Distance by Beth Reekles, the film stars Joey King, Joel Courtney and Jacob Elordi.

The film was released on July 24, 2020, by Netflix. It received negative reviews from critics, although critics called it an improvement over its predecessor.

Plot

The film starts with Elle narrating her time with Noah before he leaves for Harvard. Her senior year starts with her classmates gossiping how she and Noah will eventually break up, making her fear as Noah has befriended an attractive girl named Chloe as she checks his Instagram. Elle and Lee are planning the kissing booth again for the Charity Fair, while Lee is trying to convince Elle to have Marco Peña, the attractive new transfer student to be one of the kissers. Elle beats Marco on the dancing game forcing him to participate in the booth. Noah suggests Elle apply to Harvard, which clashes with her plans to study at Berkeley University with Lee (where their moms met and became friends). Elle does it without telling Lee.

Elle visits Noah in Boston, meeting his new friends and Chloe, making her more insecure. She finds an earring below Noah's bed making her angry and confronting Noah, who assures her nothing has happened between him and Chloe and asking her to trust him. Elle talks with her father about college tuition and learns money is a problem, and is willing to participate with Lee on a dance competition with a cash reward for the first place. Lee has an accident on one of their practice sessions (later revealed to be fake) and proposes Marco to become her dance partner, which she isn't too happy to accept but eventually does. As Marco and Elle start passing time together they grow closer, and an attraction between them initiates.

Unbeknownst to Elle, Lee's relationship with Rachel is having problems, as Elle is going everywhere with them and not letting them have their time as a couple. After leaving Rachel waiting at the movies she asks Lee to talk with Elle, promising he will but never does. The Halloween Dance arrives, and Lee forgets to tell Rachel that they changed costumes (Rachel was a marshmallow while Lee and Elle were going to be crackers making a smore) upsetting her even more. Elle shares a dance with Marco, almost kissing him but stops when listening to the OMG girls gossiping about her.

The day of the competition Lee finds on his car trunk Elle's applications to Harvard, angering him. Elle and Marco excel at their performance and she kisses him at the end of their dance, not knowing Noah was on the crowd causing him to walk away. Elle wants to go after him in the moment her and Marco are announced the winners. Thanksgiving dinner happens at the Flynn's residence, where Noah arrives with Chloe, upsetting Elle who is confronted by Lee for not telling him about her application to Harvard and Rachel being upset with her as well. During the dinner, Rachel discovers Lee never spoke with Elle and leaves the dinner. Lee catches up with her and Rachel breaks up with him. Elle tries to convince Rachel to reconcile with Lee but is unsuccessful. She also gives back the earring to Chloe, who confirms it belongs to her. She reveals that one night she slept in Noah's room when he was out and lost it.

The day of the carnival arrives, and both Lee and Rachel reconcile after being blindfolded and kissing each other at the kissing booth. Elle is also blindfolded and is approached by Marco, who wants to talk with her about their feelings. Elle admits to Marco there is an attraction between them, but tells him she loves Noah and goes looking for him at the airport. Chloe tells her that he went to look for her, Elle finds him in the shelter park where they kiss and confess their feelings for each other.

At Graduation, Lee shares with Elle that he was accepted at Berkeley and asks if she received a response which she answers she was waitlisted at both Berkeley and Harvard. Marco looks from afar at Elle, his friend notices it and answers she's not worth it. Marco decides that she is still worth it. When Elle opens both envelopes in her room it turns out she was accepted in both universities, which will force her to make a decision: go to Harvard with Noah or Berkeley with Lee.

Cast

• Joey King as Elle Evans
• Joel Courtney as Lee Flynn
• Jacob Elordi as Noah Flynn
• Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Chloe Winthrop
• Taylor Perez as Marco Peña
• Molly Ringwald as Mrs. Flynn
• Meganne Young as Rachel
• Morné Visser as Mr. Flynn
• Bianca Bosch as Olivia
• Carson White as Brad
• Tyler Chaney as Stunts

Production

In February 2019, it was announced Joey King, Joel Courtney and Jacob Elordi would reprise their roles, with Vince Marcello directing from a screenplay he wrote alongside Jay Arnold, with Netflix distributing. In May 2019, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Taylor Perez joined the cast of the film, with Meganne Young, Carson White and Molly Ringwald reprising their roles.

Principal photography concluded in August 2019, with King's last scenes shot in South Africa.

Release

The film was released on July 24, 2020 on Netflix.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 28% based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 4.44/10. On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".

External links

• The Kissing Booth 2 at IMDb
• Watch Live