Kissing Booth 2, The

image for Kissing Booth 2, The

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Not suitable under 14; parental guidance to 15 (mature themes, teen alcohol use, sexual activity and coarse language)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Kissing Booth 2, The
  • a review of Kissing Booth 2, The completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 2 September 2021.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 14 Not suitable due to mature themes, teen alcohol use, sexual activity and coarse language.
Children aged 14–15 Parental guidance recommended due to mature themes, teen alcohol use, sexual activity and coarse language.
Children aged 16 and over Ok for this age group.

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.

Name of movie: Kissing Booth 2, The
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Coarse language
Length: 132 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Now in her Senior Year, Elle (Joey King) – who gained popularity at her Los Angeles high school as the organiser of the infamous ‘Kissing Booth’, and being the girlfriend of hot and handsome bad boy, Noah (Jacob Elordi) – has new challenges to tackle, for example sustaining her long-distance relationship with Noah who has gone off to Harvard, and making decisions which colleges to apply to herself. As per usual, there are obstacles, like Noah’s new friend Chloe (Maisie Richardson-Sellers) who is outrageously attractive, smart, and popular, having to ‘share’ her bestie Lee (Joel Courtney) with his girlfriend Rachel (Meganne Young), and needing money to open up the option to also go to Harvard. To solve the latter problem, Elle decides to enter a dance competition, together with Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez), the new kid at school, who isn’t only amazing at dancing, but also “steaming hot” and charming, creating additional tension in her fragile relationship with Noah.

Themesinfo

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Teenage romance; High school comedy; Rich kid lifestyle; Friendship; Coming of age; Dancing.

Use of violenceinfo

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

No violence was noted in this movie.

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • It is unlikely that children in this age group would be scared by this movie, however it does include inappropriate, mature themes.

Aged five to eightinfo

Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • It is unlikely that children in this age group would be scared by this movie, however it does include inappropriate, mature themes.

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

  • It is unlikely that children in this age group would be scared by this movie, however it does include inappropriate, mature themes.

Thirteen and overinfo

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

  • While the themes and contents are not likely to disturb or scare children in this age group, the movie might send concerning messages, for example, in regard to drinking, sexuality, conflict-solving, relationships etc.

Product placement

  • None noted.

Sexual references

There are numerous sexual references in this movie, including:

  • Elle watches a video of Marco exercising topless, and lengthily describes how “hot” his different body parts are, indicating she is aroused and is tempted to engage with him sexually (e.g. comparing him to a dessert she wants to eat).
  • It is indicated that Elle and Noah have sex.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Noah is seen dressed in only a towel around his hips.
  • Other male characters are seen topless on several occasions.
  • Two boys kiss passionately.
  • While sex is not explicitly shown, Elle and Noah are seen kissing passionately, undressing each other, and engaged in foreplay.

Use of substances

There is use of substances in this movie, including:

  • Drinking at a pub, and Elle falling over, indicating she is intoxicated.
  • Using fake ID to be served alcohol.

Coarse language

There is frequent coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Jerk
  • Ass
  • Sucks
  • Shit
  • Butt
  • Damn
  • Crap
  • Son of a bitch.

In a nutshell

The Kissing Booth 2 is the sequel to teenage romcom, The Kissing Booth, based on teen author Beth Reekle’s book series of the same title, and, like the predecessor, packed with rich Los Angeles white kid and high school stereotypes and slapstick humour. While Part 2 is tamer than the first movie, for example, no violent and aggressive behaviour; and featuring less inappropriate, excessive, underage drinking; less indicated sex scenes and this time confined to a private setting rather than in public, some messages are still concerning. Elle should not serve as a role model, as she continues to lie, is ignorant to some others’ needs and feelings because she is too preoccupied with her own agendas, and, ultimately, she decides to stay in a relationship that is marked by suspicion, disappointment, and lack of trust, and still appears to arrange her life much around relationships rather than making independent, self-confident decisions. Due to these aspects, along with underage drinking, using fake IDs, and frequent coarse language, this movie is not appropriate for children under 14 and parental guidance is recommended for older teens under 16. If your child insists that they would like to watch one of the Kissing Booth movies, this one is a slightly better choice than Part 1.

The main messages from this movie are that life and relationships are full of tricky decisions, and that you would save yourself and others some trouble and disappointment if you were honest and communicated openly.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include (with the movie serving some examples of how NOT to do things):

  • Honesty
  • Solving conflict through communicating openly and honestly
  • Friendship
  • Responsible, age-appropriate behaviour.

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

  • Being honest: Like in the first movie, Elle is lying and keeping things secret from her best friend which leads to disappointment and conflict.
  • Talking things out: a lot of issues that arise between Elle and Noah, Elle and Lee, and Lee and Rachel could have been avoided if they had communicated clearly, openly, and honestly.
  • You should not text and play with your phone in class.