The Kissing Booth

Movie, 2018, TV-14

Premise - An entitled rich, white high-school girl betrays the rule she made with her best friend since birth about never dating each other's family members, and starts sleeping with his older brother - despite the older brother being a manipulative, coercive man-whore who psychologically abuses her by convincing all other boys in her school to never date her. And they live happily ever after.

Review - I love movies. So so much. I love stories. I can pretty much enjoy the worst of stories just because it's an art form I adore. This was a very sad exception. This was - NO CONTEST - the WORST film I have ever seen in my entire life. Part of me died, and I am never getting it back. It destroyed my faith in the world, my love for teenagers, my love for filmmakers... I feel as though my innocence has been stolen.

Any reasonable filmmaker, no matter how cheesy and juvenile, would paint Noah (the older brother) as the bad guy, and create a film where she either learns to love herself without him, or ends up with the best friend. It could still be a simple, mindless fun rom-com that way. BUT NOOOOOO she ends up with Noah, who I literally deem to be abusive.

That's just the tip of the iceberg with this film. The level of sexual objectification, sexism, ownership over other people, and lack of female empowerment... it was so, so, so sickening that I fear for the generation that would ever watch something like this. This is coming from someone who grew up with Twilight when I was in middle school, and absolutely adored it. Still do. This is not an example of angsty romance, this is pure stupidity. I feel ruined. (2/100)

What to watch for - Plz don't

If you liked this movie, just no.

Based on a Wattpad fic by Beth Reekles
Directed by Vince Marcello
Distributed by Netflix