I have always been a huge fan of ridiculous romantic comedies, whether they be mind-numbingly saccharine, over-the-top silly, or just a hot mess. But once again, The Kissing Booth takes the cake when it comes to hot messes. The sequel is a definite step up from the first film — someone obviously took note of what fans didn’t like and stopped using any excuse to strip Joey King down to her undies. But rather than applying those notes to the biggest issues, like Elle (King) and Noah’s (Jacob Elordi) relationship, they doubled down on many of the behaviors and themes that made the first film such a hard pill to swallow.
There are moments of brilliance between our favorite duo, Elle and Lee (Joel Courtney), that make me wonder why they won’t give in and just date each other. It would save everyone else the headache of trying to separate them because that’s not happening anytime soon. And though he was low-key wasted, Taylor Zakhar Perez makes his mark as Marco, the guitar-slinging, Spanish-remix singing new guy who turns Elle’s head just as she begins to lose faith in her relationship with Noah.
Despite the many ways The Kissing Booth 2 made me sigh gustily in exasperation, I still eagerly watched it and I’ll probably do the same when Netflix gives the people what they want and makes a third film. So in light of that, I’m going to share my 100 percent unfiltered thoughts about the biggest plot points (and holes). Grab a large slushy and take a seat, it’s going to be a ride.