The Kissing Booth 3

The Kissing Booth 3 | The Reelcap
The Kissing Booth 3 Poster
Vince Marcello's wild teen rom-com/drama finally comes to a close after 3 long years.

The second installment of "The Kissing Booth" ended on a cliffhanger, teasing viewers that Elle (Joey King) must choose between Berkley and Harvard, her best friend Lee's (Joel Courtney), and boyfriend Noah's (Jacob Elordi) respective schools.

In “The Kissing Booth 3” she finally decided to go to Harvard, which devastated Lee. To make amends, she devised a comprehensive bucket list for them to enjoy during their final summer together.

As the two best friends do all the crazy stuff on the list like organizing a flash mob, skydiving, and playing real-life Mario Kart, Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez) and Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) re-enter Elle and Noah’s life. Shaking their relationship to its core, one more time.

“The Kissing Booth 3” is the last film of the “The Kissing Booth” trilogy and like its predecessor: it’s messy, unrealistic, and unnecessary.

The characters and story do not progress in any way from the last time we saw them, they are like never-ending plateaus. Noah remains manipulative, Lee remains a rambling child, and Elle remains a drab heroine. It's the same cast of characters we've seen before. Despite having two exhaustingly long films, they continue to make bad decisions. Rachel (Meganne Young) is the only character that shows progression in this movie. And she doesn't even have more than 10 lines and 10 minutes of screen time.

It's infuriating that the problems from the previous films have carried over to this one. All of Elle's decisions are still influenced by boys, for some reason. It's as if she can't make up her mind on her own. The men in this film are so toxic that the best scenes are those in which they are not present at all.

It is really baffling that Vince Marcello was able to pitch a “Kissing Booth 3” to Netflix. This finale's story is completely incomprehensible, if not boring. The conflict is about Elle's college preparation, but what we get instead is a series of montages and pointless dilemmas that have nothing to do with her struggle at all. What’s the point of setting aside the main conflict for some nonsensical fun?

Not only is it dense and immature, but the film also moves at an excruciatingly slow pace.

The only redeeming thing about "The Kissing Booth 3" is that it comes to a satisfying conclusion.

Elle realizes after three films that she must put herself first in her search for love. It may appear to be insignificant, but looking back on her journey, she definitely deserves to be alone for the time being.

Nonetheless, I continue to believe that “The Kissing Booth 3” is problematic and futile. The lesson meanders and is already long overdue. It's a relief that this series is finally over.

0.5/5

Joey King, Jacob Elordi, Joel Courtney and Meganne Young in The Kissing Booth 3

Watch the full movie of "The Kissing Booth 3" on Netflix.