Kissing Booth 3: Why The Ending Wasn’t Right

The Kissing Booth 3 ends with a six-year time-jump that reunites Elle, Noah, and Lee — a cheesy conclusion that still manages to be underwhelming.

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Netflix’s The Kissing Booth 3 wraps up with a feel-good ending, but the conclusion wasn’t right for the rom-com trilogy. Netflix dropped the first The Kissing Booth film in 2018; based on Beth Reekles’ books of the same name, it didn’t take long for the streaming giant to order the sequel, which dropped in 2020. With two films already out, it made sense for the third one to follow, especially since the novels the movies are based on were also published as a trilogy.

Set in Los Angeles, The Kissing Booth franchise follows Elle Evans (Joey King), a high schooler who’s starting to transition into early adulthood. She is joined by her best friend, Lee Flynn (Joel Courtney), and his brother, who eventually becomes her love interest, Noah Flynn (Jacob Elordi). Together, the trio navigates the complications of their relationships with each other. Noah, then, had to move across the country to Boston for college, which became the primary conflict in The Kissing Booth 2. With a much bigger cast also came a more complex narrative. Elle struggled with her set-up with Noah, and Lee’s new relationship made her feel alienated, driving her into the arms of Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez).

The Kissing Booth 2 ended with Lee and Elle graduating high school; meanwhile, she and Noah were also back together after a brief break-up. But, Elle was faced with another problem: where would she go for college? U.C. Berkeley, as she had planned with her best friend, or to Harvard so that she wouldn’t have to go through another long-distance relationship with her boyfriend? This was the central narrative coming into The Kissing Booth 3; however, the story was muddled by additional, less compelling, plot lines. In the end, Elle ultimately decided to go to USC, separate from the Flynn boys. The threequel wrapped up with a six-year-time-jump in which everyone is back in Los Angeles, while Elle and Noah rekindle their romance. Despite a mostly happy ending, there are several issues with how The Kissing Booth franchise finished.

The Kissing Booth 3’s Storylines Don’t Work

With The Kissing Booth 2’s cliffhanger ending functioning as the jumping point for The Kissing Booth 3, one would assume that Elle’s college decision was going to be the central conflict of the threequel. However, that wasn’t the case. Instead, the movie kept introducing smaller and unnecessary plot lines that only overcomplicated the storytelling. Chloe’s (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) return didn’t have any impact whatsoever other than seeing her back; even her personal storyline which revolved around the impending divorce of her parents didn’t go anywhere. Marco’s role in The Kissing Booth 3 was essentially a rehash of his arc in The Kissing Booth 2 — only this time, Noah was physically present to witness him shamelessly trying to flirt with Elle. Similarly, the tug-and-way between the Flynn boys for Elle’s attention has already been done in past films, and it need not be repeated again. Had The Kissing Booth 3 stuck with its original premise about Elle’s college choice, perhaps it could’ve crafted a better ending.

The Kissing Booth Didn’t Even Factor In The Film

To be fair, after the first movie, the titular kissing booth was pretty much inconsequential to the franchise. But at least The Kissing Booth 2 tried to incorporate it in an organic way; the sequel actually spent time with it, although it didn’t have the same impact on the narrative as its predecessor. The Kissing Booth 3, on the other hand, horribly shoehorned it at the end just for the sake of showing it. Admittedly, it would be tricky to find a better way to integrate the kissing booth in the threequel since Elle and Lee have graduated. But surely there are better ways to include it in the story than just forcing its unneeded cameo.

The Beach House Should’ve Been Sold

One of the main plotlines of The Kissing Booth 3 revolved around the Flynns’ beach house being sold. While Lee, Noah, and even Elle disagreed with it, the Flynns parents were set on their decision, arguing that with both boys being out of town for college, there’s no practical reason to keep the property. As part of their attempt to spend their best summer together, the trio, as well as Rachel, decided to be the home’s caretaker during the break. This kept the core cast of The Kissing Booth 3 physically together for the majority of the movie, unlike The Kissing Booth 2. At the very last minute, however, Sara Flynn (Molly Ringwald) decided against their original plan after she got briefly nostalgic thanks to Elle’s gift. Yet, it would’ve been so much better for the story if she had sold it; this way, it would’ve better fit The Kissing Booth 3’s theme of the end of an era, particularly for Lee and Elle as they begin college. The beach house didn’t even factor in the movie’s ending as they never returned to it after it was pulled out from the market.

Noah & Elle’s Relationship Arc Doesn’t Make Sense

As in The Kissing Booth 2, Elle and Noah once again broke up in the threequel. She had already chosen to go to Harvard to be with her boyfriend, but Noah realized that Elle only chose Harvard for him. So, he decided to split up with her, and this time, their separation lasted for six years. When they reunited following the time-jump, they needed to catch up with what was going on with each other’s lives. What’s weird about this is that it’s implausible that they’d never kept in touch throughout all those years. For starters, they’re essentially part of an extended family — surely they bumped into each other during holidays and special occasions. If not, both would’ve heard updates from their relatives about how the other was doing during their break-up. Secondly, and most baffling is that Noah even talked about still protecting Elle on the heels of their split. But how could he have done that if he severed all contact with her?

The Kissing Booth 3 Didn’t Show Its Most Important Part

Perhaps the biggest problem in the subsequent The Kissing Booth movies is the fact that there’s no real growth for its characters. This was a pervasive issue in The Kissing Booth 2, made much worse in The Kissing Booth 3. Perhaps, it’s the reason why the threequel didn’t feel like it has a plot of its own since most of its issues were just a rehash of what happened in its predecessor. While Elle, Noah, and Lee appear to be full-fledged adults at the end of the trilogy after the six-year-time-jump, The Kissing Booth 3 skipped the most important aspect of its story: to see them go through the process of growing up. After they all went their separate ways for college, there’s no indication of how each coped during that time of personal growth. Instead, Elle’s narration simply gave the impression that after their time apart, they’re all magically matured adults. Granted that it may have been tricky to fully tackle this aspect given the time constraints, but The Kissing Booth 3 ending could’ve at least incorporated a montage of the characters thriving during their college lives. That way, it didn’t feel that its ending was rushed, and worse, unearned.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/kissing-booth-3-ending-cliche-failed-wrong/