The Kissing Booth (2018)
- The incredible score for The Kissing Booth was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Vince Marcello originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- During the filming of The Kissing Booth, Joey King improvised one of the most famous lines in the movie.
The Kissing Booth is a 2018 American teen romantic comedy directed by Vince Marcello, based on Beth Reekles's self-published novel that she began writing on Wattpad at age 15. Joey King stars as Elle Evans, a high school junior whose lifelong best friendship with Lee Flynn, played by Joel Courtney, is governed by a set of sacred rules โ including Rule #9: relatives of your best friend are off-limits for dating. When Elle falls for Lee's older brother Noah, played by Jacob Elordi, she must navigate her forbidden romance while maintaining her friendship.
The Kissing Booth became one of Netflix's most-watched original films upon release, demonstrating the streaming platform's ability to create global teen franchises that bypassed traditional theatrical distribution entirely. Jacob Elordi's brooding, bad-boy Noah became a teen heartthrob, and the film's success launched two sequels that followed the characters through high school and into college. The Kissing Booth's commercial success was notable given its extremely poor critical reception, illustrating the disconnect between critics and the teen audience Netflix was targeting.
