Everything Wrong With The Kissing Booth 2
The Kissing Booth 2 is finally out.
A little over two years after the first film's release, we finally got to experience the continuation of the love story between Elle and Noah. Much like the first movie, The Kissing Booth 2 is cheesy and sweet. But also like the first movie, the film is filled with problems we just can't ignore.
Whether you loved or hated the movie, take a look below at everything wrong with The Kissing Booth 2.
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Elle Ignores Noah
Right off the bat, the movie tries to normalize a glaring issue. When Noah leaves for college, Elle decides to be "mature" and give him his space. How does she do that? She ignores his text messages or gives awkward, one-word responses. That's pretty much the opposite of maturity.
When in a long-distance relationship, communication is key. By not talking to Noah, Elle conveys that she's not really committed to him or interested in continuing their relationship. Her definition of a mature interaction is painfully skewed. By not keeping in touch with Noah, Elle creates a rift in their relationship that only heightens their trust issues down the line.
(The Kissing Booth 2 via Netflix)
Elle Feels Forced to Attend Berkeley With Lee
Elle and Lee's friendship is cute in theory, but disastrous in practice. During the last movie, Elle felt she couldn't be honest with her bestie for fear of breaking their friendship rules. In this film, Elle was again caught in the same situation. Because of said rules, Elle and Lee decide to attend school together at the University of California, Berkeley. Elle does want to attend college with her bestie, but she also wants to apply to other schools. Rather than feeling free to explore her options, Elle feels that she's betraying Lee by applying anywhere else.
The idea is utterly ridiculous. When planning your future, you shouldn't pick colleges because of anyone, including your best friend. Elle should feel free to make her own decisions, but her friendship with Lee often leaves her feeling trapped. She wants to make Lee happy, so she must abide by their friendship rules, whether it's what she truly wants or not. A bestie just shouldn't make you feel that way. Elle's relationship with Lee is sweet, but it's also severely co-dependent, which limits Elle from exploring life in the way she should at a young age.
(The Kissing Booth 2 via Netflix)
Noah Is Too Close To Chloe
One of the major issues in this movie is Noah's close relationship with a girl he meets at college, Chloe. Elle feels uncomfortable with their increasingly tight bond, but doesn't know how to express her fears to Noah. At the end of the film, Noah asserts once again that his friendship with Chloe is just that: a friendship. He even states that he wanted to be close with her in the same way Elle and Lee are close.
However, there are many problems with that way of thinking. Elle and Lee knew each other since birth and practically grew up together. They were close far before Elle started dating Noah. Noah, on the other hand, spends a lot of alone time with Chloe while he's in a relationship. He confides in her in a way he doesn't confide in Elle and even lies to Elle about spending time with her.
In short, Noah's relationship with Chloe is inappropriate. He shouldn't be bonding with another girl so closely while he's dating someone, especially if his girlfriend is uncomfortable. It's totally fine to have attractive friends when in a relationship, but Noah blurs the lines with his touchy-feely behavior with Chloe, his tendency to use her as an emotional confidante and his lying to Elle about their relationship. Elle was right to be upset about their bond, and the fact that their relationship was never intimate doesn't magically smooth things over.
(The Kissing Booth 2 via Netflix)
Elle Doesn't Confide in Noah
While Noah's budding relationship with Chloe is inappropriate, Elle is no angel either. Her main problem in the relationship is her inability to confide in her boyfriend. When he leaves for school, Elle doesn't bother telling Noah that she feels insecure and scared. That leaves Noah totally in the dark as to why she's no longer answering his texts.
Her passive-aggressive behavior continues when she finds Chloe's earring under Noah's bed. Instead of asking right then and there why the earring is present, Elle storms out and refuses to tell Noah what's wrong. She eventually brings it up, but fails to tell him how scared and frustrated she is by that relationship.
Elle's total inability to talk to Noah creates so many problems in their relationship. It's as if she doesn't feel safe enough to truly be herself, which involves being honest with her feelings. If she's so scared to talk to her boyfriend honestly, isn't it possible that this isn't the right relationship? Why can't Elle see that?
(The Kissing Booth 2 via Netflix)
Elle Turns Down Marco to Chase Noah
Of course, no teen love story would be fully complete without a love triangle. In this case, Elle begins to fall for the new hot kid at school, Marco, while Noah is away. They bond over their rehearsals for a big dance competition, and their relationship culminates in Elle kissing Marco at the end of their performance, unaware that Noah is in the crowd watching. At the end of the film, Marco shows up at the Kissing Booth and tells Elle he has feelings for her. Rather than being with Marco, Elle says he's not "the one" and runs off to chase Noah before he goes back to Harvard.
While the ending is romantic, Elle totally makes the wrong choice. Unlike she and Noah, Elle and Marco actually share similar interests. They get along well and obviously have feelings for one another. In comparison, Elle's relationship with Noah has been plagued by drama for months. Being with him is difficult, and it always has been. Plus, they're growing in different directions. Noah is across the country at Harvard, having new experiences and making new friends. Elle, on the other hand, is finishing out her senior year of high school and discovering herself.
High school relationships aren't meant to last forever. By deciding that she and Noah are "meant to be," Elle eliminates her ability to grow into her own person because much of her life revolves around Noah. If the story were realistic, Elle would have broken up with Noah, dated Marco for a little while and then moved onto the next dude. That's how most high school relationships work. By clinging to Noah so desperately, Elle isn't allowing herself to change and grow up.
(The Kissing Booth 2 via Netflix)
Want to show your love for this flawed film? Click HERE for Elle Evans quotes from The Kissing Booth 2 to use as Instagram captions.