Netflix’s beloved 2018 Lineup “Summer Of Love” came with one major flaw: Vince Marcello’s regressive and haunting romantic comedy The kissing booth, a film whose central objective seemed to be to undress its 16-year-old female protagonist as often as possible. Along with a male romantic lead who uncomfortably touched the line between “endearing bad boy” and “violent sociopath” The kissing booth It allowed all the worst impulses of the romantic comedy genre. But since her story of a girl falling in love with her best friend’s older brother became one of the The most seen (and look again) on Netflix, its sequel comes just in time for the lazy, hazy days of this socially distant summer. (If the idea of a high school kiss booth felt dated in 2018, it’s Really out of touch with our current moment.)
To his credit, Marcello, who is rewriting and directing the sequel, appears to have taken criticism of the first film seriously. The kissing booth 2 she drops the misogynistic nuances of the original, and Joey King’s Elle Evans remains mercifully clothed. Her new long-distance boyfriend, Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi), has been remodeled as a less violent criminal and more like a soft boy with communication problems. The film even delves into the complexities of female friendship as Elle navigates her relationship with Rachel (Meganne Young), the new girlfriend of life’s best friend Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney).
And yet without the outdated gender policies to look at, The kissing booth 2 it’s mainly boring. Like Netflix’s rom-com sequel, equally episodic and undercooked To all the boys: PD: I still love you, The kissing booth 2 he doesn’t know how to extend his premise to a second characteristic. (Marcello shows that with a meta-scene in which Elle and Lee get the green light to readjust their kiss booth fundraiser, only for their student council to warn, “Last year is going to be hard to beat.”) Expand the world of the first filming without really delving, The kissing booth 2 It often feels more like a spin-off TV series, though at an outrageous time of 132 minutes, it’s not a windy watch.
The plot, insofar as there is one, involves two possible frustrations for Elle and Noah’s relationship. While Noah is getting friendly with Harvard’s classy friend Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers), Elle is thrown along with new classmate Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez). He is the only dancer at her school with enough talent to help her win the $ 50,000 prize in a “Dance Dance Mania” tournament that resembles the opening ceremony of The Hunger Games. Elle needs the money because she is planning to go to college with Noah in Boston the following year; It doesn’t matter that she promised Lee that they would attend Berkeley together.
Elle and Lee’s weird and codependent dynamic is The kissing booth 2‘s Most interesting relationship. (It helps that King and Courtney are by far the most charming artists in the film.) This franchise answers the question “Can men and women be friends?” with a resounding yes, but he also recognizes that those friendships can sometimes feel different from those of the same gender; There’s an intelligently watched silent negotiation on whether Lee’s best friend or girlfriend gets first place in the front seat. Unfortunately, when it comes to Elle’s romantic life, The kissing booth 2 It is much less original. Pérez is marginally more charismatic than Elordi, especially since the film allows him to sing and dance in Elle’s heart. But they’re also not as compelling as the question of why Elle’s high school is full of teenagers who look like adult Marvel superheroes.
The kissing booth 2 he has good intentions, much more than the first movie, at least. He wants to tell a story about the importance of communication, both in romantic relationships and in close friendships. However, when his teenage characters are as far removed from real life as these, it’s hard to imagine that message coming in with real force. How brazenly The kissing booth 2 teases a third installment, however it appears that this franchise points to at least one more opportunity to strike the right balance.
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