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Parents' Guide to

The Kissing Booth 3

By Jennifer Green, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Lightweight threequel has language, drinking, and sex.

Movie NR 2021 112 minutes
The Kissing Booth 3 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 14+

Based on 10 parent reviews

meydiana.rizki
meydiana.rizki Parent of 18+-year-old
November 10, 2022
age 18+

I love this bitter sweet sequel!!!!!

Aww I think this was probably the best of the 3 films from a deep point of view. If you are looking for the classic happily ever after straight line then you'll probably hate it. I give it a complete 5 star because i can totally relate with the feeling here. Yes Elle and Noah said they would fight for each other, but i guess fighting for another person may mean letting them go and hope that fate brings you back again when the time is right. I love how much Noah is better able to contain his anger especially with Marco. I must admit i really was happy that Elle got to do her own thing cos common!! She really had been trying to make everyone but herself happy!! If She had gone to Boston with Noah, I think She would have come to regret it in a way and believe me, Lee would never have let her forget it, and If She went to Berkley, She would have missed Noah too much, caused more Drama thereby killing her friendship with Lee. I especially loved that they met after 6 years (Even though they all still looked exactly the same to me) and you can just tell that they would get back together and i especially used my imagination to get the happily ever after my romantic heart was secretly looking for. It was a bitter sweet film for me, a perfect way to end a series that held me from the start. P. S All the other sub plots were cool also, Elle's Dad, Chole's parents etc..all just showed that Life happens and you either go with the flow, fight against it or Learn its curves and bends and just Surf with it!

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much consumerism
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Stargazer411
Stargazer411 Adult
July 7, 2022
age 13+
Stick to the first one. Watch any more and you'll get depressed.
See all 10 parent reviews

What's the Story?

It's the start of the last summer before Elle (Joey King), Lee (Joel Courtney), and Lee's girlfriend, Rachel (Meganne Young), leave for college in THE KISSING BOOTH 3. Elle is trying to decide between two places she got accepted -- Berkeley, where her best friend Lee is attending, and Harvard, where her boyfriend, Lee's brother, Noah (Jacob Elordi), already goes. All signs point toward Harvard and Noah, until their relationship starts to hit some speed bumps over the summer. The boys' parents (Molly Ringwald and Morne Visser) announce they're selling the kids' favorite childhood home-away-from-home; Elle's dad (Stephen Jennings) is dating again; and Elle's former flame Marco (Taylor Zakhar Perez) is suddenly back in the picture. Meanwhile, Elle is doing everything she can to avoid hurt feelings with Lee, including fulfilling a long-lost summer beach bucket list.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (10 ):
Kids say (28 ):

In this lightweight third entry to the series, privileged teens spend their last summer before (Ivy League) college grappling with relationships and growing up. The Kissing Booth 3 will provide some closure for fans of the previous films, especially in its "Six years later" epilogue. But there's not much by way of deeper character development, and the story's central conflict -- which college (and therefore brother) Elle will choose -- doesn't really provide much conflict at all. Nor do storylines about the boys' parents selling their beach house, Chloe's parents getting a divorce, Marco still holding a flame for Elle, or high school relationships coming to an end.

Molly Ringwald is sadly underused in this sequel, and disparate accents (including Australian Elordi's poking through as American Noah) are left unexplained. A montage of the teens' fulfillment of a bucket list of activities feels improbable, as does the extreme wealth on display. Likewise, in a scene where Elle, already feeling down, drops a bunch of trash when a bag tears, Lee tries to cheer her up by explaining that according to his mother, there are only two things worth spending "a little extra" on: trash bags and bacon. The anecdote's lack of deeper meaning is reflective of the film as a whole.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how The Kissing Booth 3 picks up themes and storylines from the two earlier films, if they've seen them. Were there plot twists or character developments you didn't expect? What references to events from past films did you pick up on?

  • Why do studios make sequels? What are the benefits and risks involved?

  • What did you think of this film's epilogue?

  • Drinking plays a major role here. Does the movie make casual drinking by underage kids look cool? Are there any realistic consequences? Why is it a good idea for families with older kids and teens to discuss drinking and substance abuse in movies?

Movie Details

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