As an end of finals tradition, I allowed myself to indulge in one of my favorite pastimes – watching cheesy romantic comedies. Only this time, I was pleasantly surprised.
About a week ago, I came across the trailer for the Netflix Original Movie, “The Kissing Booth.” As an avid lover of chick flicks, I was instantly hooked. As someone who was recovering from finals, the plotline was simple enough for me to follow.
The trailer tells a story about two lifelong best friends whose friendship was strained by a kissing booth. But wait, there’s a twist – the main character falls in love with her best friend’s brother. Unfortunately, the two BFF’s have a set of rules they must follow and the brother (who I might add is extremely attractive) is off limits. Talk about a recipe for disaster.
Even in the short trailer, the energy between the actors was contagious. You might recognize the main character, Joey King, from her role in “Ramona and Beezus.” It was then that I knew I had to give this movie a shot. I admit, I was expecting another overused plotline, but the movie had quite the opposite effect.
From an outsider’s perspective, the movie appears to be like any other chick flick. However, after watching the movie, you realize it tells a beautiful story of a young woman falling in love for the first time.
For those of you are familiar with the movie, “Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging,” you might notice many similarities between the two movies. Throughout the movies, we see growth in the main characters. In the beginning, the main characters start off as young women who are naïve about relationships, but toward the end of the movies, they understand the importance of their first loves, and after struggling to find themselves, they remained true.
For me, the movie had a nostalgic feeling. As a young adult, it made me look back at my high school memories. The saying is true, you will never forget your "high school firsts." Even at 24 years old, I remember my first kiss and my senior prom. From time-to-time, I still look back at those memories and smile. While watching the movie, I felt like a high schooler falling in love for the first time again.
Later that night while I was fangirling over the movie and the real-life relationship between the two actors, I found out the movie was based on a book written by a young adult author, Beth Reekles. Fun fact, she wrote the book when she was only 15 years old! Yes, you read that right, 15 years old.
Not only did I find that inspiring as a writer, but I was able to connect with her portrayal of the characters due to her young age. Her story was genuine and wasn't forced. It felt like I was reading the stories from her diary and the actors brought her words to life.
The bottom line? Make sure to check out "The Kissing Booth," which is now available streaming on Netflix. Trust me, you'll want to go back for a second kiss.
