‘The Kissing Booth 3’ (2021) Review

The Kissing Booth 3 Synopsis: It’s the summer before Elle Evans is set to head off to college, and she has a big decision to make.

The Kissing Booth 3 picks up where The Kissing Booth 2 ended – with Elle and Lee’s graduation and Elle finding out that she’s been accepted to both Harvard (Noah’s school) and Berkley (Lee’s school). She puts off her decision, telling both brothers that she’s been waitlisted at both colleges.

The last movie in The Kissing Booth trilogy is the summer before Lee and Elle head off to college. They spend the summer at the beach house owned by Lee and Noah’s parents, who have plans to sell it. After Elle decides to attend Harvard with Noah, she strives to make it up to Lee by completing the Beach Bucket List they wrote as kids. In an attempt to make everyone happy, Elle becomes overwhelmed as her relationships fall apart.

As much as I enjoy most of the cast, the movies are not very good, and The Kissing Booth 3 is no different. I couldn’t figure out why this movie is nearly 2 hours long. It has no cohesive narrative, and many scenes feel redundant and forced. Along with Lee and Elle’s bucket list montages (including swimming with sharks and skydiving), Elle’s dad has a new girlfriend, Noah’s friend Chloe arrives to stay at the beach house, and Marco shows up with a job at the local water park. Lee is planning literal schedules for himself and his girlfriend Rachel, who is attending a different college. Noah and Elle spend most of the movie fighting. Lather, rinse, repeat.

While I understand what this movie wanted to be – a journey of self-discovery – it resorts to the petty love triangle vibe of the second movie. It wastes any potential it might have had to finish a rather bland trilogy on a solid note.

Why did we need to see Marco again? What was the point of Chloe moping about her divorcing parents? Sure, I get that these two characters are clearly meant to give advice and help Noah and Elle work things out, but ultimately, their presence in the film was pointless. Did anyone care about Lee and Rachel, the latter of whom was a complete non-factor in the movie? The charm and talent of Joey King are once again wasted here. Jacob Elordi has already proven he’s talented (Euphoria), but he’s just going through the motions here, though I can’t blame him, considering how little the script gives him to do.

Obviously, this is not a glowing review of The Kissing Booth 3, but I will admit that I enjoyed it more than the first movie and maybe slightly more than the second. I found bits and pieces fun – mostly Elle and Lee’s scenes together, and I will admit that I liked the ending.

It attempts some semblance of realism after an hour and a half of complete fantasy. I know that when watching these movies, we want the sugary happy ending with a cherry on top, but I was more than okay with how Elle’s story concluded. I saw many fans of these movies complaining about it, but I think Elle and Noah’s HEA was more than implied with that last shot.

The Kissing Booth 3 is schmaltzy and repetitive, offering nothing new beyond the first two movies. If you want a teen romance with some depth, check out the To All the Boys trilogy instead.

Watched: 08/20/2021
Notable Song: Fading by Colouring