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I feel like a romantic comedy is only as good as the two leads. Is there chemistry? Are they funny? Can they act their way out of a paper bag? Some all-time great classics in this genre are films that are flat, cliched and generic, yet they succeed due to the leads. With Netflix's new film, The Kissing Booth, only one of the leads seems to be interested in the material and trying to give a good performance. The other seems like they just woke up and rolled out of bed. Thus, The Kissing Booth fails to deliver in many areas.
Elle and Lee are born on the same day, in the same hospital and their mothers are best friends. They grew up attached at the hip and have a soft spot for dancing, specifically DDR. They set up a few rules, such as if one gives the other ice cream they have to forgive that person no matter what. Another is the standard no secrets. But one in particular that gets the plot in motion is' No Relations with Relatives'. This is hard for Elle as she has the hots for Lee's brother Noah. A good-looking jock with an attitude problem. Guess what...she breaks dem rules.
Joey King, whom I always thought of as a second rate Chloe Grace Moretz gives a likable performance as the girl pining after the boy. She's never kissed a boy before and is obviously out of her element. She has the right amount of awkwardness with a comedic defensive shield to make her relatable. It's the performance that makes the character, not the writing. Her brother from another mother Lee, played by Super 8's Joel Courtney is left to the sideline a little bit here. He's one hundred percent against the idea that she hooks up with his brother, to the point of it ruining their friendship. Finally the boy in question, Noah, played by the plank of wood Jacob Elordi. The crucial reason this film fails is because of him and his lack of awareness when he acts. Not a single thing that comes out of his mouth is believable. It doesn't help that the character is an egocentric asshat. He wants Elle because she's the only girl who doesn't worship the ground he walks on, in his words. Give me a break guy. One of the worst performances I've seen this year.
So sure when a girl who has never kissed a boy before kisses him, she decides to sleep with him the next day. Slow down girl. You're not making it easy to be on your side here. Dumb characters doing cliched rom-com things. Nothing new here, but it seems to have connected with the "tween" crowd. Maybe I'm not the demographic, but the messages given in this film make me concerned for the girls that it is targeted at. Lie to your friends, give up your virginity quickly, be fake to other people, be willing to lose friends over the "D". It'll all work out in the end for you. It goes on and on. The lead guy loves to beat people up, why???? The film never really dives into this, but he's smart enough to be accepted in Harvard. He should change his name to Will Hunting.
The film feels outdated, I thought we as a society have surpassed these types of movies where female characters fawn over bad boys and do nothing else. It's King's performance that makes the character actually likable. In an effort to get street cred, they've cast Molly Ringwald as the boys' mother. It appears that she can only do motherly roles now. Look, maybe just maybe I'm wrong here and I'll present the other case. My wife falls asleep ALL THE TIME when we watch a movie or a tv show. We were watching Netflix's Nailed It, which she loves. 3 episodes in and she falls asleep. Perfect, maybe I can get in some Fortnite. She she goes upstairs, but then comes back down with a snack. Okay...maybe I'll put on a movie and she'll fall sleep again. Hmm, The Kissing Booth it is. I give her 20 minutes and I bet she falls asleep. We get to the credits...it's 1 in the morning. She's wide awake. She actually enjoyed it.
Am I missing something? Or is my wife just crazy?
The Kissing Booth
(Vince Marcello)
(Vince Marcello)
I feel like a romantic comedy is only as good as the two leads. Is there chemistry? Are they funny? Can they act their way out of a paper bag? Some all-time great classics in this genre are films that are flat, cliched and generic, yet they succeed due to the leads. With Netflix's new film, The Kissing Booth, only one of the leads seems to be interested in the material and trying to give a good performance. The other seems like they just woke up and rolled out of bed. Thus, The Kissing Booth fails to deliver in many areas.
Elle and Lee are born on the same day, in the same hospital and their mothers are best friends. They grew up attached at the hip and have a soft spot for dancing, specifically DDR. They set up a few rules, such as if one gives the other ice cream they have to forgive that person no matter what. Another is the standard no secrets. But one in particular that gets the plot in motion is' No Relations with Relatives'. This is hard for Elle as she has the hots for Lee's brother Noah. A good-looking jock with an attitude problem. Guess what...she breaks dem rules.
Joey King, whom I always thought of as a second rate Chloe Grace Moretz gives a likable performance as the girl pining after the boy. She's never kissed a boy before and is obviously out of her element. She has the right amount of awkwardness with a comedic defensive shield to make her relatable. It's the performance that makes the character, not the writing. Her brother from another mother Lee, played by Super 8's Joel Courtney is left to the sideline a little bit here. He's one hundred percent against the idea that she hooks up with his brother, to the point of it ruining their friendship. Finally the boy in question, Noah, played by the plank of wood Jacob Elordi. The crucial reason this film fails is because of him and his lack of awareness when he acts. Not a single thing that comes out of his mouth is believable. It doesn't help that the character is an egocentric asshat. He wants Elle because she's the only girl who doesn't worship the ground he walks on, in his words. Give me a break guy. One of the worst performances I've seen this year.
So sure when a girl who has never kissed a boy before kisses him, she decides to sleep with him the next day. Slow down girl. You're not making it easy to be on your side here. Dumb characters doing cliched rom-com things. Nothing new here, but it seems to have connected with the "tween" crowd. Maybe I'm not the demographic, but the messages given in this film make me concerned for the girls that it is targeted at. Lie to your friends, give up your virginity quickly, be fake to other people, be willing to lose friends over the "D". It'll all work out in the end for you. It goes on and on. The lead guy loves to beat people up, why???? The film never really dives into this, but he's smart enough to be accepted in Harvard. He should change his name to Will Hunting.
The film feels outdated, I thought we as a society have surpassed these types of movies where female characters fawn over bad boys and do nothing else. It's King's performance that makes the character actually likable. In an effort to get street cred, they've cast Molly Ringwald as the boys' mother. It appears that she can only do motherly roles now. Look, maybe just maybe I'm wrong here and I'll present the other case. My wife falls asleep ALL THE TIME when we watch a movie or a tv show. We were watching Netflix's Nailed It, which she loves. 3 episodes in and she falls asleep. Perfect, maybe I can get in some Fortnite. She she goes upstairs, but then comes back down with a snack. Okay...maybe I'll put on a movie and she'll fall sleep again. Hmm, The Kissing Booth it is. I give her 20 minutes and I bet she falls asleep. We get to the credits...it's 1 in the morning. She's wide awake. She actually enjoyed it.
Am I missing something? Or is my wife just crazy?