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The Kissing Booth

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The Kissing Booth
Film release poster
Directed byVince Marcello
Produced by
  • Ed Glauser
  • Andrew Cole-Bulgin
  • Vince Marcello
  • Michele Weisler
Vince Marcello
Starring
Edited byPaul Millspaugh
Music byPatrick Kirst
Production
company
Komixx Entertainment
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • 11 May 2018 (2018-05-11)
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Kissing Booth is a 2018 American romantic comedy film directed by Vince Marcello, based on the novel of the same name by Beth Reekles. It stars Molly Ringwald, Joey King, Jacob Elordi and Joel Courtney. The film was released on 11 May 2018 on Netflix.

Plot

Born on the same day and time in the same hospital in Los Angeles, California, Elle Evans (Joey King) and Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney) have been best friends all their lives. To keep their special friendship, the pair created a set of friendship rules they promise to follow, including rule #9: relatives totally off limits, especially Lee's older brother Noah (Jacob Elordi).

On the first day of school due to unforeseen circumstances Elle is forced to go to school wearing a skirt that is too small. Another student touches her butt which almost gets Lee into a fight but Noah instead jumps into the fight. Elle violates the dress code so she has to serve detention. Tuppen, the student who touched Elle inappropriately, later apologizes. Lee and Elle chat and he approves of her going on a date with Tuppen however Elle is stood up. He goes to see her later that night to let her know that he was threatened by Noah not to go out with her. And finds out that, Noah has told other guys besides Tuppen not to date Elle.

Elle and Lee decide to create a kissing booth for the school carnival. The two have difficulty finding people to participate but get a group of popular girls called the OMG's to participate by lying to them about Noah's participation.

The kissing booth is a success. However, girls become angry when they discover that Noah is not actually working the kissing booth. Therefore Elle is set up to kiss a nerdy kid while blindfolded however Noah interferes causing him to kiss Elle and when she takes off her blindfold he does it again. After cleaning up Elle sees Noah flirting with another girl so she runs home while Noah looks at her. While on her way home it starts to rain and Noah offers her a ride on his motorcycle. However, the rain gets too heavy and they have to stop. They shelter in a nearby glass ‘bandstand’ in a park. Elle kisses Noah again and he pulls away. After staring at each other Noah goes in for another kiss. Elle ends up pulling away, telling him she can't be another one of his conquests. He’s hurt by her response but tells Elle why he likes her. They kiss again but are interrupted by a security guard who recognizes Noah and tells him to stop bringing girls there. Elle gets upset that Noah brought her to the place where he brings his other girlfriends and leaves.

The next day, there is a school party. Elle sees Noah getting tackled by females, so she undresses to make him jealous. The school participates in a slippery slide drink game. While at a party Elle is harassed by Warren and Noah trucks (football term) him. This causes Elle to storm off but Noah requests her to get in his car very aggressively. Instead of going home he takes her to the Hollywood Sign and they talk about their relationship. They both admit to liking each other and decide to come up with rules for their relationship, one being that Lee never finds out. The two share a kiss, and Noah tries to lay a move on her. Elle moves his hand to signal she isn't ready, but she makes the first move instead and they end up having sex under the Hollywood sign.

Elle and Noah start to see each other secretly and are careful that Lee or anyone else did not find out. While in Noah's room his mom almost walks in on them and Elle has to hide. While hiding she overhears her say that he had been accepted to an Ivy League school. Soon after he reveals to her that he is going to Harvard and she starts to realize that he won't be around next year. One day while hanging out with Noah, Lee walks in on him tending to a cut on her face. He become suspicious and asks Elle if it was Noah who hurt her. This infuriates Noah and they are about to get involved in a fight, but Elle stops them and takes Lee away. Lee asks her is there is something going on between the two of them, to which she denies. She ends up feeling guilty about lying to Lee and goes back to Noah and tells him that they need to come clean that night and when Noah agrees he says that way he can take her to prom. They kiss but Lee ends up seeing it. Hurt, Lee attempts to leave his house but Elle tries to get him to talk before Noah intervenes and eventually get into a fight. When Lee asks if they have had sex, Elle and Noah look gulity and Lee admits he knew they were. After backing off, Lee leaves and Elle tells Noah to leave her alone.

Lee starts giving Elle the silent treatment and Noah goes missing. While at the arcade one day Lee invites Elle over to play a game and they make up and make plans for their upcoming birthday party. Before prom, Noah finally returns but to talk to Elle's dad who says he does not approve but it is her decision.

Elle goes to prom with Lee and his girlfriend Rachel and has a good time until a replica of their kissing booth is revealed. Noah comes out from behind the curtains to tell Elle that he loves her but she responds by saying that she cannot keep on hurting the people she loves because of him and that no one wants them to be together. Noah agrees to this but then asks her what she wants. To this, Elle does not seem to have an answer and she runs away sobbing. Rachel chases after her but Elle gets away before she can say anything.

The next day at their costume themed birthday party, Elle begins missing Noah and decides to leave. Lee stops her and Elle tells him that she loves him but she also loves Noah and if he can't accept that then maybe they shouldn't be friends. Lee finally accepts that Noah makes her happy and agrees to help Elle find him. Elle and Lee get in the car and leave for the airport. She starts sharing her true feelings for Noah to Lee and then it is revealed that all this time in the car it was Noah in Lee's costume. Elle is surprised to see Noah and admits to him that she loves him. They embrace and kiss.

During the next few weeks, Elle and Noah spend every day together before he has to leave for college. When it is time to go Elle goes with him to the airport and he leaves. After watching him leave, she drives off on Noah's motorcycle saying that she does not know if they will be together forever but she knows that a part of her heart will always belong to Noah Flynn. The story ends with Elle stating that everything happened just because of the Kissing Booth.

Cast

Production

In June 2014, Vince Marcello was hired to write the film adaptation of teenage author Beth Reekles' young adult novel The Kissing Booth, which was originally published on Wattpad.[1] In November 2016, it was announced that Netflix had purchased rights to the film, with Marcello now set to helm his screenplay.[2] In January 2017, Joey King and Molly Ringwald signed on to star in the film.[3]

The filming took place in Los Angeles, California, and in Cape Town, South Africa, with scenes shot at the University Of Cape Town (UCT) between January and April 2017.[3]

Release

The film was released on 11 May 2018 on Netflix.[4] According to Netflix, one in three viewers of the film have re-watched it, "which is 30 percent higher than the average movie re-watch rate on the [streaming service]."[5] Deeming the film a huge success for the service, CCO Ted Sarandos called the film "one of the most-watched movies in the country, and maybe in the world."[6]

Reception

On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 13%, based on 8 reviews, and an average rating of 3.7/10.[7]

The Kissing Booth was panned by critics.[8] IndieWire's Kate Erbland gave the film a "D" grade, adding that "Unfortunately, the high school-set rom-com is a sexist and regressive look at relationships that highlights the worst impulses of the genre."[9] Ani Bundel of NBCNews criticized the film's "problematic stereotyping of masculinity and relationships" and lack of original ideas. "It feels like it was written by someone who simply digested everything she was told 'romance' was supposed to be by the patriarchy, and vomited back at us. Nearly every cliché in the film feels cribbed from another movie, like a song made completely of samples from better-known hits."[8]

Despite being deemed "sexist"[9][10] and "objectively bad"[11][12] by several critics, The Kissing Booth was widely consumed among audiences. Netflix's Ted Sarandos, CCO affirmed the film's success as a "hugely popular original movie" for the streaming service.[11]

The Kissing Booth on Wattpad

The Kissing Booth was written in 2011 by author Beth Reekles. It originated as a story on Wattpad where it won a Watty Award for "Most Popular Teen Fiction" in Wattpad's annual writing contest.[13] By 2012 it had amassed over 19 million reads and, in 2013, was published by Penguin Random House.[14] In an interview with Forbes, Reekles explains what drew her to Wattpad: "I loved the feeling of community on the site, and when I began to share, I liked the anonymity of it because I was so self-conscious about my writing and hadn't shared it with anyone before."[15]

Sequel

On February 14, 2019, a sequel was announced, titled The Kissing Booth 2.[16]

References

  1. ^ Kemp, Stuart (10 June 2014). "'Zombie Prom' Scribe Hired To Pen Teenage Publishing Sensation Beth Reekles' 'The Kissing Booth'". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  2. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (30 November 2016). "Netflix Orders 'The Kissing Booth'; YA Adaptation To Be Produced By Komixx". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  3. ^ a b N'Duka, Amanda (30 January 2017). "Joey King & Molly Ringwald To Pucker Up In 'The Kissing Booth'". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Business Media. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  4. ^ Hemmert, Kylie (1 May 2018). "The Kissing Booth Official Trailer Released". ComingSoon.net. CraveOnline Media. Retrieved 19 May 2018.
  5. ^ Galuppo, Mia (20 June 2018). "'Set It Up' and the Rise of the Non-Studio Rom-Com". The Hollywood Reporter. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  6. ^ Adalian, Josef (10 June 2018). "Netflix Binge Factory". Vulture. New York Media. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  7. ^ "The Kissing Booth (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  8. ^ a b Bundel, Ani (3 July 2018). "Netflix's 'The Kissing Booth' is a runaway teen phenomenon that critics hate and adults have never heard of". NBCNews. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  9. ^ a b Erbland, Kate (31 May 2018). "'The Kissing Booth': Netflix's Teen Comedy Sensation Is Sexist and Outdated — Review". IndieWire. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  10. ^ Cagle, Tess (14 May 2018). "Netflix celebrates the male gaze with puzzlingly sexist teen flick, 'The Kissing Booth'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  11. ^ a b Rowles, Dustin (21 June 2018). "Why Is The Objectively Bad Netflix Movie 'The Kissing Booth' So Insanely Popular?". Uproxx. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  12. ^ Foreman, Alison (15 June 2018). "'The Kissing Booth' is the problematic, lazy dumpster fire dominating Netflix". Mashable. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  13. ^ Doll, Jen (9 April 2013). "Meet the 17-Year-Old Who's Already Got a Three-Book Deal with Random House". The Atlantic.
  14. ^ "Netflix's latest hit 'The Kissing Booth' is a Wattpad success story".
  15. ^ Rowe, Adam. "Why Beth Reekles Is The Wattpad Success Story Behind Netflix Hit 'The Kissing Booth'". Forbes.
  16. ^ Hipes, Patrick (14 February 2019). "'The Kissing Booth' Getting Netflix Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
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