Movie review
May 11, 2018 · 105 min · PG-13
Woke Score
Lower is better
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Kissing Booth.
Woke representation / casting
Casting uses mostly white leads and limited diverse supporting roles that fit a standard American high school rom-com premise and source material; no visible identity signaling, race swaps, or DEI emphasis to audiences.
Woke political dialogue
Dialogue stays on school rules, personal crushes, jealousy, friendship pacts, and young love with no activist language or social justice themes.
Identity-driven story themes
Core story follows classic forbidden romance and loyalty conflicts in a light teen drama structure without identity politics, representation arcs, or modern social messaging.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Scenes show possessiveness and fights within a traditional bad-boy romance trope; the film offers no activist-style critiques of patriarchy, masculinity, family norms, or Western institutions.
Review
The Kissing Booth is a 2018 Netflix teen romantic comedy directed by Vince Marcello and based on Beth Reekles' Wattpad novel. It follows high school student Elle Evans whose secret romance with bad boy Noah Flynn, her best friend Lee's older brother, tests their lifelong friendship during school events like a kissing booth fundraiser. The story centers on personal loyalty, first love, jealousy, and teen drama in a classic rom-com style with some mature content around relationships and conflict. No audience-visible woke elements, identity politics, or social justice messaging appear in the plot, dialogue, marketing, or reception.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant; this is an original contemporary story with no legacy characters or canon alterations.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Backlash centered on regressive relationship portrayals and clichés from feminist or quality perspectives; no documented complaints that the film pushes woke, DEI, or identity politics.
Creator track record context
Key creatives focus on commercial teen romance entertainment with no documented history of activist, political, or identity-driven work across their careers.
Production
