The Kissing Booth 2
Official release poster
Directed byVince Marcello
Screenplay by
  • Vince Marcello
  • Jay Arnold
Based onThe Kissing Booth
by Beth Reekles
Produced by
  • Ed Glauser
  • Andrew Cole-Bulgin
  • Vince Marcello
  • Michele Weisler
Starring
CinematographyAnastas Michos
Edited byPaul Millspaugh
Music byPatrick Kirst
Production
companies
  • Picture Loom Productions
  • Clearblack Films
  • Komixx Entertainment
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24)
Running time
131 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Kissing Booth 2 is a 2020 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Vince Marcello and written by Marcello and Jay Arnold. As a direct sequel to the 2018 film The Kissing Booth and the second installment in the Kissing Booth trilogy (itself based on The Kissing Booth books by Beth Reekles), the film stars Joey King, Joel Courtney and Jacob Elordi.

The film was released on July 24, 2020, by Netflix. Like its predecessor, the film received generally negative reviews from critics. A third installment was released on August 11, 2021.

Plot

Elle's senior year begins with classmates gossiping that she and Noah will soon break up. This makes her fear elevate as Noah has befriended an attractive British girl named Chloe on Instagram.

Elle and Lee are planning the kissing booth again for the Charity Fair. So, he is trying to convince her to ask Marco Peña, the new transfer student dubbed the new "Noah Flynn," to be one of the kissers. Beating Marco on the dancing game, she forces him to participate in the booth.

Noah suggests Elle apply to Harvard, which clashes with her plans to study at University of California, Berkeley with Lee (where their moms met and became friends). So, Elle does it secretly. Talking with her father about college tuition, Elle learns money is a problem, and decides to participate with Lee in a dance competition with a huge cash reward for first place.

Elle visits Noah in Boston, meeting his new friends and Chloe, making her more insecure. She finds Chloe's earring under Noah's bed, which causes her to leave Boston. Confronting Noah, he assures her nothing has happened between him and Chloe and he asks her to trust him, though she is still skeptical.

Lee slips during one of their practice sessions (later revealed to be fake) so proposes that Marco become her dance partner, which she isn't too happy about but eventually does. As Marco and Elle start spending time together, they grow closer, and an attraction starts to develop between them.

Unbeknownst to Elle, Lee's having problems with Rachel, as Elle goes everywhere with them and does not give them alone time. After forgetting Rachel waiting at the movies, she asks Lee to talk with Elle, which he promises but never does. The Halloween Dance arrives, and Lee forgets to tell Rachel they changed costumes (Rachel was a marshmallow while Lee and Elle were going to be crackers making a smore), further upsetting her. Elle shares a dance with Marco, almost kissing him but stops upon hearing people gossiping about her.

Lee finds in his car trunk Elle's application 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 in the crowd, causing him to walk away.

Thanksgiving dinner happens at the Flynn's. Noah brings Chloe, upsetting Elle. Lee then confronts her for not telling him about her application to Harvard and Rachel is also upset with her. During dinner, Rachel discovers Lee never spoke with Elle and leaves. When he catches up with her, Rachel breaks up with him. Although Elle tries to convince Rachel to reconcile with Lee, she is unsuccessful. Elle also returns the earring to Chloe, who confirms it's hers. Later on, Chloe confides to Noah that one night she'd slept in Noah's room when he was away and must've lost it.

The carnival day arrives, and Lee and Rachel reconcile after being blindfolded and kissing at the kissing booth. Elle is also blindfolded and is approached by Marco, who wants to talk with her about their feelings. Although she admits there is an attraction between them, she tells him she loves Noah and goes looking for him at the airport.

At LAX, Chloe tells her that he went to look for her, and Elle finds him in the park where they first kissed. Noah confesses to being embarrassed as initially he wasn't doing as well at Harvard as he'd hoped. He also wants a connection with Chloe like Elle has with Lee. Elle and Noah reunite.

A few months later Noah returns, and Elle, Lee, and Rachel graduate. Lee shares with Elle that he was accepted at Berkeley and asked if she received a response. She tells them she was waitlisted at both Berkeley and Harvard. When Elle opens both envelopes in her room, it turns out she was accepted to both universities, so she has to make a decision: go to Harvard with Noah or Berkeley with Lee.

Cast

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.[1] In May 2019, Maisie Richardson-Sellers and Taylor Zakhar Perez joined the cast of the film, with Meganne Young, Carson White and Molly Ringwald reprising their roles.[2]

Principal photography concluded in August 2019, taking place in South Africa.[3]

Release

The film was released on July 24, 2020 on Netflix.[4][5] It was the top-streamed film in its opening weekend, while the first film ranked third.[6] It placed second in its sophomore weekend, with Forbes noting it as "one of the most popular movies ever on the platform."[7][8] In October 2020, Netflix reported 66 million households watched the film over its first four weeks of release.[9]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 27% based on 41 reviews, with an average rating of 4.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Joey King makes The Kissing Booth 2 better than it could have been, but this slapdash sequel will leave viewers puckering up for all the wrong reasons."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 39 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[11]

IndieWire's Kate Erbland gave it a grade C+, and wrote: "While it offers some necessary growth for all of its characters, The Kissing Booth 2 can never resist looking and acting like dozens of other offerings of its genre ilk, unable to grow beyond basic complications and done-to-death dramas. And yet there are hints that its evolution has a few more tricks left to employ, its winking conclusion only one of them."[12] Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent gave the film a score of 2 out of 5 stars, writing: "To The Kissing Booth 2’s credit, it’s not as aggressively problematic as its predecessor."[13]

Adam Graham of The Detroit News gave the film a grade of B, writing that the film "is a sun-kissed fantasy with an appealing cast and a slick presentation that provides an easy escape, and that's OK, too."[14] Robyn Bahr of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the film "wades into the quagmire of what happens when the glow fades from a new relationship", and concluded: "As I might have said during my own high school days, The Kissing Booth 2 is “mad stupid,” but it’s still not as overtly slappable as Netflix’s other low-budget teen comedies."[15]

Sequel

The Kissing Booth 3 was released on Netflix worldwide on Wednesday, August 11 at 12am PT and 3am ET in the US.[16]

References

  1. ↑ Hipes, Patrick (February 14, 2019). "'The Kissing Booth' Getting Netflix Sequel". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  2. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (May 30, 2019). "Netflix's 'The Kissing Booth 2' Sets Maisie Richardson-Sellers & Taylor Perez In Key Roles". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  3. ↑ Gemmill, Allie (August 19, 2019). "Joey King Is Officially Done Filming The Kissing Booth Sequel". Teen Vogue. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  4. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (May 21, 2020). "'Kissing Booth 2' Coming to Netflix in July". Variety. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Kissing Booth 2: 5 Things You Should Know About Netflix Movie". Moviespie. June 6, 2020. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  6. ↑ Brueggemann, Tom (July 27, 2020). "'The Rental' Is Second Film Ever to Be #1 on Both Theatrical and VOD Charts at Same Time". IndieWire. Retrieved July 27, 2020.
  7. ↑ Brueggemann, Tom (August 3, 2020). "'The Secret: Dare to Dream' Soars on PVOD as 'The Rental' and 'The Outpost' Hold Strong". IndieWire. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  8. ↑ Bean, Travis (July 29, 2020). "'The Kissing Booth 2' Is Close To Becoming The Second Movie On Netflix To Achieve This Incredible Milestone". Forbes. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  9. ↑ Low, Elaine (October 20, 2020). "'The Old Guard' Viewed By 78 Million Households in First Four Weeks, Says Netflix". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  10. ↑ "The Kissing Booth 2 (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  11. ↑ "The Kissing Booth 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 24, 2020.
  12. ↑ Erbland, Kate (July 24, 2020). "'The Kissing Booth 2' Review: Netflix's YA Hit Gets a Sweeter, Sloppier Sequel". IndieWire. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  13. ↑ Loughrey, Clarisse (July 24, 2020). "The Kissing Booth 2 isn't as problematic as its predecessor, at least – review". The Independent. Archived from the original on June 18, 2022. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  14. ↑ Graham, Adam (July 24, 2020). "Review: Muuah! 'The Kissing Booth 2' a slick, sweet teen rom-com". The Detroit News. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  15. ↑ Bahr, Robyn (July 24, 2020). "'The Kissing Booth 2': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (July 26, 2020). "'Kissing Booth 3' Shot in Secret, Already in Post-Production and Coming from Netflix in 2021". Indie Wire. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
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