The Kissing Booth 3

The Kissing Booth 3
Official release poster
Directed by	Vince Marcello
Written by	Vince Marcello Jay Arnold
Based on	The Kissing Booth by Beth Reekles
Produced by	Ed Glauser Andrew Cole-Bulgin Vince Marcello Michele Weisler
Starring	Joey King Joel Courtney Jacob Elordi Taylor Zakhar Perez Maisie Richardson-Sellers Meganne Young Molly Ringwald
Cinematography	Anastas Michos
Edited by	Paul Millspaugh
Music by	Patrick Kirst
Production companies	Picture Loom Productions Clearblack Films Komixx Entertainment
Distributed by	Netflix
Release date	August 11, 2021 (2021-08-11)
Running time	113 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

The Kissing Booth 3 is a 2021 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Vince Marcello, from a screenplay by Marcello and Jay Arnold. It is the third and final installment in The Kissing Booth trilogy based on Beth Reekles' novel of the same name, following The Kissing Booth and The Kissing Booth 2. It stars Joey King, Joel Courtney, Jacob Elordi, Taylor Zakhar Perez, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Meganne Young and Molly Ringwald. The film was released on Netflix on August 11, 2021.^[1] Much like its predecessors, the film received negative reviews.

Plot[]

After going on a road trip post-graduation, Elle still hasn't made her mind up about whether to go to Berkeley or Harvard – although Noah is already planning to get an apartment off-campus for the two of them. When Noah and Lee's parents announce they're selling the beach house where they all spent their childhoods, Elle, Noah, Lee, and Lee's girlfriend, Rachel, offer to spend the summer there to help out with the sale. Lee shows Rachel his plans for them to see each other on holidays while going to colleges across the country from each other, while Elle is suddenly faced with a deadline by Berkeley. She chooses to go to Harvard with Noah which upsets Lee, but Elle promises to make it up to him by spending the summer doing their beach bucket list of various activities.

Noah's friend Chloe – who Elle once thought Noah was having an affair with – arrives at the beach house while Marco – who Elle kissed – gets a job in the area. During a day at the waterpark, Noah and Marco clash, prompting Noah to call out Elle for not realizing Marco still has feelings for her. Tensions escalate when Elle struggles to divide her time between Lee and Noah. At the same time, Elle grapples with accepting her father's new girlfriend, Linda, also a friend of her late mom, fearing that she'll replace her. Encouraged by Chloe, who is coping with her parents' divorce, to talk to Elle, Noah makes up with Elle. Marco shows up at the Fourth of July party where he again fights with Noah and punches him, but Noah refuses to retaliate. Marco admits to Elle that he does still have feelings for her, but she rejects him. That night, Elle fights with her father over Linda, accusing him of only dating her for his own pride; in response, he angrily recounts the sacrifices he has made for her and her brother Brad and that she is not the only person who deserves to be loved. "You have no idea how disappointed in you I am right now", he rebukes.

Unaware that Noah saw her acceptance letter to Berkeley, Elle goes to find him at their spot. Worried that she's only going to Harvard for him and that she will regret it, Noah breaks up with Elle. Heartbroken, Elle misses a bucket list with Lee to play Dance Dance Revolution. They argue as Lee tells her that he's never mattered to Elle compared to Noah, while she tells him to grow up and that all of her decisions this summer have been about trying to make everybody happy. Noah and Lee's mother tells Elle that she should start thinking about "what it is that you want to do" and choose a college based on that. Chloe and Elle talk about Noah while saying goodbye to each other, with Rachel eavesdropping on their conversation. Having seen the issues that Elle and Noah's relationship had, Rachel breaks up with Lee, though she hopes they will someday reunite.

Acknowledging how happy her brother is around her, Elle eventually understands and accepts Linda, reconciling with her father. Marco apologizes to Elle and they say their farewells amicably before Elle makes up with Lee and tells him that she's realized that she's spent so long maintaining her relationships with Noah and Lee that she hasn't worked out what makes her happy. Elle decides to apply to University of Southern California and study game design. Inspired by Elle, Noah and Lee's mom decides not to sell the beach house.

Six years later, Elle is developing her own game. She and Lee remain close friends, visiting the fated Kissing Booth at the Charity Fair and Carnival. Additionally, Lee and Rachel reunited with each other and got engaged after college. Sometime later, Elle sees Noah for (presumably) the first time since their breakup, where he reveals he has job offers at law firms in Los Angeles and New York. Noah suggests going on a motorcycle ride when he's back in town and Elle agrees. They part ways, but not before looking back at each other.

Elle and Noah are seen riding down the coastline in California on their motorcycles, laughing and having fun.

Cast[]

• Joey King as Elle Evans
• Joel Courtney as Lee Flynn
• Jacob Elordi as Noah Flynn
• Taylor Zakhar Perez as Marco Peña
• Maisie Richardson-Sellers as Chloe Winthrop
• Meganne Young as Rachel
• Molly Ringwald as Mrs. Flynn
• Stephen Jennings as Mike Evans
• Chloe Williams as Joni Evans
• Morné Visser as Mr. Flynn
• Bianca Bosch as Olivia
• Zandile Madliwa as Gwyneth
• Camilla Wolfson as Mia
• Carson White as Brad Evans
• Judd Krok as Ollie
• Frances Sholto-Douglas as Vivian
• Evan Hengst as Miles
• Sanda Shandu as Randy
• Hilton Pelser as Barry
• Trent Rowe as Melvin
• Michelle Allen as Heather
• Joshua Eddy as Tuppen
• Nathan Lynn as Cameron
• Byron Langley as Warren
• Cameron Scott as Ashton^[2]
• Bianca Amato as Linda

Production[]

In July 2020, it was announced the third film had been secretly shot back-to-back with the second film in South Africa in 2019, with King, Elordi, Courtney, Perez, Richardson-Sellers and Young all reprising their roles. Marcello again directs from a screenplay he wrote alongside Jay Arnold.^[3][4]

Release[]

The Kissing Booth 3 was released on August 11, 2021 on Netflix.^[5]

Reception[]

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 21% based on 19 reviews, with an average rating of 3.4/10.^[6] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 36 out of 100 based on 8 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".^[7]

The New York Times's Natalia Winkleman called The Kissing Booth 3 "a fitting, if bland finale."^[8] Kate Erbland from IndieWire gave the movie a grade of D+, criticizing the movie's characters and direction. She wrote: "King continues to breathe life into Elle, even when she’s making ludicrous, immature decisions, while Elordi is reduced to looking mad and Courtney is saddled with some serious crying jags." She wrote that the series as a whole "could deliver a more adult, honest look at teenage lives, but it prefers to pull way back into chaste, wholly immature territory."^[9] Monica Castillo of RogerEbert.com gave the film 1.5/4 stars, writing: "To Marcello and co-writer Jay S. Arnold’s credit, there are a handful of surprises that defy some of the more expected youthful rom-com tropes. But the rest is a lot of the same teenage romantic tribulations we’ve seen before."^[10]

Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "there’s plenty of fan service ... but also a late-arriving sense of identity that gives this junk-food sequel just enough nutritional value to help its young audiences reconsider how to determine their own post-high school priorities."^[11]

References[]

External links[]

• The Kissing Booth 3 at IMDb