I know this movie came out quite a while ago, but I just rewatched it and wanted to share some of opinions on the highly popular film. Also there is set to be a sequel soon so we have not seen the last of The Kissing Booth.
Watching the movie a friend,made the comment that it sums up the way you feel when you are 16 almost perfectly, I completely agree with this and I do not dislike the movie.
But some things happen in the movie that do not really in my opinion get addressed in a healthy way. Mainly, the male lead who the female lead is romatically involved with clearly has some anger issues. In the movie this leads to in some instances of him treating her in a really not ok way, that could be seen as abusive. This article sums this up perfectly.
Because of these instances in this movie I think is important who the movies is marketed too. That is what I have a bit of a problem with. Netflix is marketing this movie to younger girls. As a 21 year old I have the life experience to be able to spot unhealthy relationships and red flags. A 12 year old girl or even a 14 year old likely views this movie and wants her life to be just like it. I know that’s what I did at this age, as I hoped my highschool experience would be just like highschool musical.
Considering the female lead in The Kissing Booth has her first kiss, and than sleeps with an older guy who is a notorious player within a very short period of time, I do not think she is acting the way we would want a 14 year old to act. This movie goes from being a cute teen rom com to getting very sexual very fast, and that is the wrong message, that romatic relationships go hand in hand with physical ones.
The Kissing Booth is a fun movie to watch, but I do not stand behind its messages. It is not a movie I would recommend to anyone younger than 15 and if your daughters want to watch it I would reccomend discussing with them what a healthy highschool relationhsip looks like. A part of which might be surprisingly shown in the end of the movie.
Spoiler alert if you have not seen The kissing booth, the ending is actually quite good. I really like that she does not follow the boy anywhere and when he leaves, implying they break up , she reflects on being happy that the relationship happened. She does not appear obsessed with the fact their relationship ended, and seems to have been able to use the relationship to grow as an individual. It would have been nice to see more of her personal growth in the main plot of the movie. I hope this is what they focus on in the sequel.
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