win for tuition money. (Why not throw a “Dirty
Dancing” side plot in with the kitchen sink?)
Like the first, this movie does not exist in any
sort of reality: financial, emotional or physical.
It’s the kind of world where Lee and Noah, who
the movie otherwise treat as normal upper
middle-class suburban kids, casually live in what
is probably a $25 million Hollywood Hills house.
Where it’s possible to enter a national dance
competition, having only arcade experience, in a
city full of professional dancers and performers,
and not be totally embarrassed. And where
all that’s standing between you and a shot
at getting into Harvard and Berkeley is a few
Audrey Hepburn quotes and a heartfelt essay
about where you see yourself in five years.
The joy is forced, the revelations trite and the
characters are unmemorable.
The one saving grace is King, a genuinely
delightful young actor who manages to
hold your attention and empathy even if her
underwritten character barely deserves it.
Teen movies are often aspirational but rarely
as flagrantly and unapologetically as this. It’s
funny that the author said she wanted to write
“The Kissing Booth” because the only young
adult romance books out there were of the
supernatural/vampire variety and she wanted
something real. On screen, though, “The Kissing
Booth” and “The Kissing Booth 2” are pure
fantasy. “Clueless” was too, of course, but at least
it seemed to know it.
“The Kissing Booth 2,” a Netflix release, has not
been rated by the Motion Picture Association of
America. Running time: 132 minutes. One and a
half stars out of four.