The Kissing Booth

This was a charming, entertaining movie with a few surprises along the way. I really enjoyed this film. I have always been a fan of teen coming-of-age movies, and this one shined in the genre. The characters were endearing and the story was well paced, and by the end of it you feel like you have had a genuine high school experience and made a few friends along the way. There may have been some cheesy moments and predictable dialog, but those elements didn’t take away from the heart of the film.

The Kissing Booth (2018) is based on a novel of the same name by Beth Reekles. It was written and directed by Vince Marcello. It stars Joey King, Jacob Elordi, Joel Courtney and Molly Ringwald. Elle (King) and Lee (Courtney) have been best friends their whole life. They were born at the exact same time in the same hospital, and their mothers were best friends, so they grew up spending a lot of time together. They have kept their friendship strong by developing rules, one of which is that they can’t date each other's family. This proves difficult for Elle, as she has been harboring feelings for Lee’s brother, Noah (Elordi). Elle and Lee build a kissing booth for the school carnival, and things start to heat up when Elle and Noah accidently kiss. Elle starts to fear that her feelings for Noah could hurt her relationship with Lee.

This was a very enjoyable movie. All the actors did a great job portraying the lives of typical high school students. If this film is a glimpse at the next crop of hollywood A-listers in the making, I would say we are in good shape. One thing that really stood out to me was the experience. The film started on the first day of senior year for our main characters, and ended shortly after senior prom at the end of the year. There was a scene that recapped the school year for the students, and as the audience I realized that I had just been taken through an entire school year with these kids. The backdrop of the main story the whole time was all the memorable moments that defined the school year for their entire class. It was quite exquisite.

All in all if you enjoy high school dramas with some heart, you should check out this movie.

• The Kissing Booth was released on May 11, 2018 and was distributed by Netflix.
• This movie was filmed in South Africa and California.
• In writer Beth Reekles' novel, Elle's nickname comes from her given first name, Rochelle.
• Beth Reekles was 15 years old when she began publishing her story online on Wattpad, an online community for readers and writers. The story was later picked up by Penguin Random House.
• During the prom scene, a version of the Simple Minds song "Don't You (Forget About Me) is played. The song was previously used in John Hughes' classic The Breakfast Club, which starred actress Molly Ringwald who playsMrs. Flynn in this film.
• As of June 2017, Joey King (Shelley 'Elle' Evans) and Jacob Elordi (Noah Flynn) are dating in real life.
• Although the character Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi) is the older brother to Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney), Joel is actually one year older than Jacob.
• During the detention scene, the students in the background are all dressed like the cast of The Breakfast Club.