The Kissing Booth, The Movie
I really thought I was going to give myself a little break with this project. I was going to watch a movie instead of reading a book, write up a little fluff piece, and be in and out in time for dinner. Instead, I’ve taken on something much larger, because what I have unraveled has been so surprising. So here it is, part one of four of my extended deep dive into the Kissing Booth Cinematic Universe. Hope you enjoy it!
The Kissing Booth portends to be a simplified, entertainment driven version of American high school, where the cool girls are known by the acronym OMG (and wear high heels daily and drink out of red solo cups), and the students all have six packs and clear skin. And at the start, that’s what the movie seems to be- a typical, feel good romance Netflix original for preteens. Elle, played by Joey King, is our fair protagonist. She shares a birthday with her best friend Lee, and they have a set of rules for their friendship. One of the rules is No Dating Family Members, targeted at Elle’s crush on Lee’s older brother Noah, played by 6’5” heartthrob Jacob Elordi.
In an early scene, Elle and Lee are tasked with coming up with a booth for their school carnival. They make a kissing booth. Noah kisses Elle. Drama ensues.
The broad strokes of the movie are promising. As I’ve discussed here, I am not one to turn my nose up at the feel-good. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with fluff— sometimes we all need a distraction.
But here’s the thing with this movie- it goes completely, totally, off the rails, batshit insane.
Let’s start with the red flags, shall we? Noah is incredibly protective of Elle, to the point of threatening boys who dare ask her out. His threats have teeth, as Noah is shown to be a violent and volatile person, often getting into fights.
This boy stands her up, but explains that it was only because Noah threatened him. “No boobs are worth a broken nose.” Since the boy in question assaulted Elle, the viewer isn’t supposed to be particularly mad at Noah.
Elle calls Noah to confront him, and he answers the phone, (and I cannot stress this enough), completely naked. This is the first substantial conversation between the two of them, and it marks the start of Noah calling Elle “kiddo” (ew).
All of this seems bad enough. However, as Elle starts dating Noah, it becomes apparent that she doesn’t have just one controlling man-child in her life, but two. Throughout the movie Lee, Elle’s best friend, is almost as controlling as Noah, holding her to standards of purity that he himself fails to meet.
Jamie French, who reviewed the movie, also points out the ways in which Elle’s body is constantly sexualized. This is not just through the movie’s dialogue, but also through the camera. There is a constant obsession with angles that show Elle’s underwear under her skirts. This is not even to mentioning the scene where Elle gets into a paint fight, accidentally walks into the boy’s locker room to clean herself off, and ends up stripping for the entire football team. Jamie mentions that this makes her uncomfortable, because while the actress was 18 at the time of filming, the character is only 15-16.
The movie ends with Noah going off to college. Elle wonders to herself what the future will hold for the two of them. I found the ending a little abrupt, but again, I’m not trying to give commentary on the cinematography (plenty of other people have). I wish I could say I made it through all of the crazy scenes, but I barely touched the surface. Fear not! I am not leaving behind The Kissing Booth that easily, although this is the last post focused on the movie. Hold tight, deep analysis coming to you soon. The Kissing Booth, The Book coming to you soon!
Have you watched the Kissing Booth? If so, what did you think? Let me know in the comments, or email me at honeyblogxoxo@gmail.com. If you do, you’ll get a shout out!
Have yourself a merry little romance,
Pure
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