The Kissing Booth is a 2018 American teen romantic comedy film written and directed by Vince Marcello, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Beth Reekles.

The film follows Elle (King), a quirky, late blooming teenager whose budding romance with high school senior and bad boy Noah (Elordi) puts her lifelong friendship with Noah's younger brother Lee (Courtney) in jeopardy.

The Kissing Booth was released on Netflix on May 11, 2018, and was dubbed a commercial success by the service, due to it being widely viewed by subscribers, leading to the eventual production of a trilogy of films.

At a party, she tells the popular OMG girls (Olivia, Mia, and Gwyneth) that Noah will be part of the booth, despite him having already refused to participate.

Huge black and white photographs adorn the walls of Memory Lane, a special prom exhibit, including the photos of the kissing booth.

In June 2014, Vince Marcello was hired to write the film adaptation of teenage author Beth Reekles' young adult novel The Kissing Booth, which was originally published on Wattpad.

[6] Deeming the film a substantial success for the service, chief content officer (CCO) Ted Sarandos called it "one of the most-watched movies in the country, and maybe in the world".

The website's critics consensus reads: "The Kissing Booth deploys every rom-com cliché in the book with little care given to achieving any real sentiment.

"[10] IndieWire's Kate Erbland gave the film a "D" grade, saying that "Unfortunately, the high school-set rom-com is a sexist and regressive look at relationships that highlights the worst impulses of the genre.

"[11] Ani Bundel of NBC News criticized the film's "problematic stereotyping of masculinity and relationships" and lack of original ideas, writing: "It feels like it was written by someone who simply digested everything she was told 'romance' was supposed to be by the patriarchy, and vomited back at us.

Nearly every cliché in the film feels cribbed from another movie, like a song made completely of samples from better-known hits.

"[9][12] Despite being deemed "sexist"[11][13] and "objectively bad"[14][15] by several critics, The Kissing Booth was widely consumed among audiences.

Netflix's CCO Ted Sarandos affirmed the film's success as a "hugely popular original movie" for the streaming service.

[14] Factors that have been cited as reasons for The Kissing Booth's success among audiences include the original novel's popularity on Wattpad, the relative lack of original romantic comedies on the platform, and the publicization of actors King and Elordi's off-screen relationship during the film's production.