The Kissing Booth 3 Review: A Story About The Summer Of Maturity That Brings Advice And Confusion
Director: Vince Marcello
Cast: Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi
Ratings: 3/5 (three stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
The review of The Kissing Booth 3, the third chapter of a romantic-adolescent trilogy born from the books of Beth Rekkles, arrives with the absolute awareness, already indicated for the second chapter, that this film we are about to talk about, can do nothing without its predecessors. If the trailer has intrigued you, arm yourself with a few more hours, which should not be missing in the summer and immerse yourself in the Los Angeles of our protagonist, Elle (Joey King) and the fundamental triangle that marks her existence, the fraternal friendship with Lee (Joel Courtney) and love for Lee’s older brother, the dark Noah (Jacob Elordi).
Comes out in the summer, from 11 August on Netflix and celebrates it, this third chapter which, written almost in progress by the author of the books from which it is based, Beth Rekkles, sees the season we are experiencing, that of the holidays, like the moment of maturity and of the definitive choices for the future, especially if, as in this case, it is that, forgive the pun, which follows the high school maturity.
We had left Elle at the graduation ceremony, along with Lee and the newfound Noah, grappling with a dilemma in which, let’s face it, every American teenager would want to find himself: choosing between Harvard and Berkley. Yes, because the two universities of the American Ivy League have accepted Elle and represent two opposite paths for our protagonist, Harvard means choosing love (Noah attends her) and Berkeley instead friendship. With the two men in her life unaware of the decision she has to make (the official version that Elle gave is that she is on the waiting list for both schools), the Kissing Booth 3 focuses on the last summer of the three and the Lee’s girlfriend, Rachel, in the brothers’ historic beach house, about to be sold. End of abucket list (the one of the last things to do before …) compiled by Elle and Lee as children and to be completed, coincidentally, in the summer before college.
The Kissing Booth 3 is even weaker than its predecessor, above all because in the fear of being reduced, as in fact it is, to the simple conclusion of a path already undertaken and a way to extend the spectator’s pleasure a little longer in being in company. of characters he has learned to love in 3 years, he tries to throw in as many elements as possible to season and spice, making the film full of distracting elements for the final result and paradoxically long. If a teen, light, summer comedy is or seems too long, it’s not all working out perfectly.
Missing Chemistry
As anticipated by the trailer and our introduction, the plot around which The Kissing Booth 3 revolves is that of Elle’s last summer as a teenager, the choice of the future. In the background to this, on paper, all the elements that have made the success of this franchise: the love story first hindered and then troubled, the very strong and fraternal friendship with the friend, the temptations of the uncomfortable third parties, attractive mid-way alternatives. Why then all these elements, even if still present, no longer have the same appeal as before? Let’s start by saying that Beth Rekkles, author of the books from which the films were taken, wrote this third chapter precisely to facilitate the filming of the film, directed by Vince Marcello and shot at the same time as the second. The corresponding book will in fact be out shortly. With this fact and circumstance to keep in mind, one would think that Rekkles struggled to detach herself definitively from her characters and allowed herself, thanks to the film’s screenwriters, Vince Marcello and Jay Arnold, more time to greet them at duty. The adoring fans of the couple Elle – Noah, then they will have to note with us, as already suspected not only from the trailer but also from the photos and promotional posts, that The Kissing Booth 3 focuses much more on the friendship between Lee and Elle and less on his love story which, however, made the film memorable, which inevitably inhibits a total involvement and explains the further weakening of this third final adventure. one would think that Rekkles struggled to detach herself definitively from her characters and allowed herself, thanks to the film’s screenwriters, Vince Marcello and Jay Arnold, more time to greet them properly. The adoring fans of the couple Elle – Noah, then they will have to note with us, as already suspected not only from the trailer but also from the photos and promotional posts, that The Kissing Booth 3 focuses much more on the friendship between Lee and Elle and less on his love story which, however, made the film memorable, which inevitably inhibits a total involvement and explains the further weakening of this third final adventure. one would think that Rekkles struggled to detach herself definitively from her characters and allowed herself, thanks to the film’s screenwriters, Vince Marcello and Jay Arnold, more time to greet them properly. The adoring fans of the couple Elle – Noah, then they will have to note with us, as already suspected not only from the trailer but also from the photos and promotional posts, that The Kissing Booth 3 focuses much more on the friendship between Lee and Elle and less on his love story which, however, made the film memorable, which inevitably inhibits a total involvement and explains the further weakening of this third final adventure. more time to greet them properly. The adoring fans of the couple Elle – Noah, then they will have to note with us, as already suspected not only from the trailer but also from the photos and promotional posts, that The Kissing Booth 3 focuses much more on the friendship between Lee and Elle and less on his love story which, however, made the film memorable, which inevitably inhibits a total involvement and explains the further weakening of this third final adventure. more time to greet them properly. The adoring fans of the couple Elle – Noah, then they will have to note with us, as already suspected not only from the trailer but also from the photos and promotional posts, that The Kissing Booth 3 focuses much more on the friendship between Lee and Elle and less on his love story which, however, made the film memorable, which inevitably inhibits a total involvement and explains the further weakening of this third final adventure.
To steal even more time from the two lovers, there are also the already defeated “rivals” of the second film, Marco and Chloe, which we could frankly do without. Speaking of Noah and Elle then, there is a further element to consider, even if the evaluation could be influenced by the circumstances with which the personal stories of the protagonists are intertwined with those of their characters: from their break in private life, immediately. after the first The Kissing Booth, the chemistry between Elordi and King has been waning and having diminished exponentially their romantic scenes together, did not help the film. The two are increasingly distant in terms of sparks and on the screen they are no longer so good at renewing them. To put it bluntly,
Children Who Mature, Parents Who Start Over
After underlining a first series of factors against The Kissing Booth 3, we must instead break a lance in favor of the particular attention that the film dedicates to parents, not so much for the time taken to tell them but for how this time is used. within the story. We do not often talk about how, at the stage of maturity of the children, that of leaving the house to the world out there, there is a great change for the parents who until then had kept them under an attentive eye, cared for, cared for. When the little ones leave the nest, there are fathers and mothers who begin a new phase of life. Witnessing her in The Kissing Booth 3 are Lee and Noah’s mom, played by Molly Ringwald, queen of 80s teen movies and capable, with her mere presence, of giving immediate validity to a teen movie and Elle’s father, Brad ( Stephen Jennings ), widower and perhaps finally ready for a new partner. For them, starting a new chapter will mean choosing what to let go of memories and what to keep and the film must be awarded for giving space to this reflection.
The Elephant In The Room
No film, much less a rom-com must necessarily have the obligation to represent the truth without poetic or cinematographic licenses. That said, one cannot help but notice that the Kissing Booth 3 often oscillates between reality and surreality and not always in its favor. If there is a confirmation of truth in Elle’s affairs, we can confidently say that it was time for the film to deal with the elephant in the room, the fact that the girl had never really thought about her future independently but always acting as boyfriend or best friend. Praised this awareness within the narrative, the “realizing” of Elle is declined in an all too hasty way. Hastily treating this aspect, instead of rewarding the film,
The Real Ending
To raise the fortunes of The Kissing Booth 3 a little, a further special mention to what in our opinion should have been the true ending of the film, the part in which Elle and also Lee greet the selves of the past to embrace those of the present and of the future that they are finally beginning to embody. All that comes after is a hasty and verbose way to stay in the company of our darlings a little longer but that leaves a bad taste in the mouth because we would have much preferred an open but romantic ending to one that sounds like a sop to the last hour.
The Last Words
We conclude the review of The Kissing Booth 3 by reiterating first of all the continuity bond that binds this third chapter to the previous ones, which is also the main reason to see it. Despite the summer setting and the freshness of its actors that makes the film and the whole trilogy enjoyable to watch, this third film struggles to let its characters go their own way and to enrich the journey, it ends up crowding their way with diversions and distractions that only create detachment in the viewer. The chemistry between Elle and Noah, the driving element, in our opinion, of the whole saga, here is waning and is sacrificed in favor of friendship and the raids between Elle and Lee which, although of great entertainment, they certainly don’t possess the same strength as a kiss stand or a moment of passion between the stars King and Elordi. For all these reasons, The Kissing Booth 3 is perceived as even longer than the already weaker second chapter and recovers a few points only when it dedicates itself to solving Elle’s real problems, her having always made her life decisions according to the best friend or boyfriend.
