Netflix’s much-anticipated sequel to The Kissing Booth, sees best friends Lee and Elle tackle their senior year, as well as Elle dealing with her long-distance relationship with Noah.
Director: Vince Marcello
Starring: Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi
Running time: 130 minutes
We start where we left off. Elle recaps the amazing summer she had with Noah before he departed to Boston. She fills us in that Lee became more buff, her time spent with Noah at his parent’s beach house and that she even started a gaming podcast with Lee – reaching a whole 37 subscribers (watch out, KSI!)
However, this all came to an end when Noah left for Harvard. So, now it was time for Lee, Elle and Rachel to begin their senior year. They start off once again with ideas for the upcoming carnival and once again, the Kissing Booth returns by popular demand. However, this is only with the most wanted pupils doing the booth, promised by Elle.
This year’s lucky person to do the booth is new heartthrob and love interest Marco. Elle and Marco become closer as they compete in the Dance Dance Mania competition together. Alongside Lee and Elle’s budding friendship, Rachel is starting to become jealous that Lee is always choosing Elle over her.
Whereas 3,000 miles away, Noah is adapting to Harvard life, as well as becoming good friends with new threat Chloe. Elle starts to become jealous and wonders if there is anything more going on between the two. With all the quirky humour and problems concerning the heart along the way, you will need to watch to find out what happens for the pair…
Like the first, this sequel brings us the same soppy love stories and witty humour we saw in the first The Kissing Booth. This was once again shown through our favourite pair of besties Lee (Joel Courtney) and Elle (Joey King). Neither of them had changed from how they were in the first film as they bounce off each other so well.
Brings us the exact same feeling we had from the first Kissing Booth
Sometimes in sequels, you feel like the characters may change but luckily in this sequel they did not. Joel Courtney perhaps plays one of the best characters in this film as he both brings the humour and serious side to the character. Although Joey King does this well, when Joel plays Lee, I feel like he stands out more as we do not see him as much as Elle.
The new addition to the cast is of course heartthrob Marco – played by Taylor Zakhar Perez – who is a great addition to the film as he doesn’t only bring dreamy sight to viewers, but he brings more drama and wit to the piece as he begins to fall for Elle (which is apparent) and plays alongside her humour. He also appears as a triple threat as he also sings and dances! How can you resist?
Something that stands out in this sequel is the subplot of the relationship between newcomer Ollie and Myles, who was revealed to be gay in the first film. It’s a budding love we see grow as the film progresses as Ollie learns about his true feelings and eventually reveals them to Myles.
Just like the first, there isn’t much to fault with this sequel as it brings us the humour, the love and the drama. Perhaps, the only flaw you can pick up is the voiceover from Elle, which felt more obvious than it did in the previous film. However, this isn’t a major downfall as it makes it easier for us to understand the plot.
This sequel was not disappointing and brings us the exact same feeling we had from the first Kissing Booth. The romance and the comedy provide us with the feelgood vibe we want from a film. And, what is even better is we were left with a cliff-hanger, which leaves it open for a third instalment - something I cannot wait for!
Did you know? According to statistics from Netflix, one in three viewers of the first film watched it more than once - a figure 30 per cent higher than the average re-watch rate for movies on the service.
The Kissing Booth 2 is now available on Netflix
We have a favour to ask
LeftLion is Nottingham’s meeting point for information about what’s going on in our city, from the established organisations to the grassroots. We want to keep what we do free to all to access, but increasingly we are relying on revenue from our readers to continue. Can you spare a few quid each month to support us?
