The love triangles, to test the friendships, college applications, dance contests, and a whole new carnival kissing booth to plan were just some of the many events that complicate Her life on Netflix the A Kiss In The Booth 2. And with these new frames arrive new characters, the most prominent of sweet love interests Framework (Taylor Zakhar Doe), and Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers). However, the addition of Ollie (Judd Krok) and his coming to terms with his sexuality was a plot I couldn’t get on board with — Ollie deserves so much more.
While the script was underdeveloped in its own right, it also adds very little to the main narrative, leaving me to question why it was included in the first place if it were not for some pseudo act of “wokeness.”
My first red flag should have been that it took me about an hour and a half through the movie before I even learned of Ollie’s name. It is possible that I missed, but had he been given more screen time and attention, I probably wouldn’t have. By the time the movie ended, he and Miles (Evan Hengst) shared four scenes together throughout the film. While the script was underdeveloped in its own right, it also adds very little to the main narrative, leaving me to question why it was included in the first place if it were not for some pseudo act of “wokeness.”
It feels obvious that the filmmakers were trying to expand romantic relationships past many heteronormative pairings through the inclusion of a gay couple. While these changes are welcome, should not be performed solely for the sake of the test of how progressive of a film, which is exactly how the sequel felt. The poorly planned relationship was, at worst, in bad taste. The moments that I found truly problematic were the numerous times She tried to compare her — largely self-inflicted, struggles with Noah Ollie is coming out.
At one point, She encourages Ollie to not care what guys think and do not enable their views prevented him from being with the person you love. She goes on to say that she “knows all about that,” to compare his situation to the time that she snuck around with your best friend, the brother of him, even though he was explicitly asked her not to. Forgive me for saying that those are not the same thing.
Later, as the Framework tries to convince Elle to be with him, he begs her to not let fear prevent you from getting what you really want. The camera then slowly pans to Ollie and Miles that are happy to be together after that kiss in the kissing booth. She used as an example to love without fear and persecution after Noah, although it seems clear that don’t work well long distance. Assuming Elle, a straight woman, not just understand, but empathize with the experiences of a gay classmate is not allyship, it is a microaggression. Pretend Elle shares in any of their struggles is not OK.
While perhaps subtle, both of these moments pull the focus of the marginalized of the relationship of the writers seemed so intent on including. It feels performative, not genuine, and a lost opportunity to expand an important dynamic. When The Kissing Booth 3 it happens, I hope that diversity and inclusion are given the great attention that they deserve, and not just marked as a plot point.
