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Blurb from IMDb: It's the summer before Elle Evans is set to
head off to college, and she has a big decision to make.
Cat’s Point of View:
The first thought that came to mind at the end of The Kissing Booth 3 was ‘thank goodness
that’s finally over.’ Did I hate the movie? No, I just had a laundry list of
issues with it that goes back to The Kissing Booth 2 (2020). The endcap of this trilogy was fine but largely unnecessary. The first thing I feel I must share is that while the
trailer flows rather smoothly through the elements that comprise this sequel,
the film, itself, does not get right to the point. The Kissing Booth 3 is twice as long as it should have been. It feels like everything was – or could have
been – settled in the second installment.
I feel I must add as a disclaimer, however, that I have not
read the book that this trilogy was based upon. That being said, I am unable to objectively state whether or not the first 2 movies covered all of
the important plot points for the novel’s story. Maybe there was a call for a
third installment based on something there. Audiences watching only the Netflix
Originals, however, wouldn’t necessarily know that. Though, just like the main character drags her heels in
making her decisions, The Kissing Booth 3
takes a meandering route to its conclusion. Somewhere along the way it also
lost a bit of the more comedic tone that the first 2 installments
had. Don’t get me wrong, there were a couple of epic scenes here and there that had
me laughing – but it was pretty firmly a romantic drama as a whole.
Somewhere along the way, it felt like the story lost the
elements that helped me identify with the production’s protagonist way back in
the beginning. With that kinship missing, it was hard to view the narrative as
anything other than extraneous exposition that you might find in a basic
romance novel –sans the graphic steam. These characters lived entirely in a
fantasy world where money was no object and the pandemic didn’t exist. I get that it wasn’t a factor in the book, and the first 2
films were developed before Coronavirus was a household word. I simply can’t
help it that the overall experience dramatically impaired my ability to suspend
disbelief.
While I am generally satisfied regarding the conclusion to
this trilogy, it feels like this is one of those times that the sequels didn’t
do the original any favors. If you’ve been following along through the first 2
movies, then I can only urge you to go ahead & finish it up with The Kissing Booth 3, if only for some closure. If you haven’t started this Kissing Booth journey yet,
perhaps weigh your decision to watch accordingly.
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