Why Meganne Young Thinks The Kissing Booth 3 Isn't Your Ordinary Teen Film - Exclusive
We've all seen the trope before: women tearing down other women in teen films whenever they feel threatened. Well, many rom-com fans are over this outdated pattern, including "The Kissing Booth 3" actress Meganne Young, who plays Rachel. Outside of a few jealous moments, the teen trilogy relies on women lifting each other up rather than tearing each other down — and it's something we need to see more of in Hollywood. If "The Kissing Booth" series taught us anything, it's that movies don't need a few dozen catfights to have endless entertainment. Despite minor, fleeting jealous moments, Elle's (Joey King) friendship with Rachel stands the test of time. Even better, they never actively root against each other, even when setting boundaries between their respective relationships with Rachel's boyfriend and Elle's best friend, Lee.
In an exclusive interview with Looper, Meganne Young talked about "The Kissing Booth 3," dishing on the feminism of the series, the divide it caused in the fandom, and how these choices set the series apart from other rom-coms.
No catfights in the kissing booth, please
When asked about how the notion of women supporting women helped shape the films, Young said, "I think, initially, when Vince [Marcello] was kind of walking me through what was going to happen with the relationships, he kind of told me in a more of a step-by-step process. This was before I got a script to read. When I got to actually read the words of what they were saying, I really loved that it wasn't about jealousy."
"It wasn't about her," she clarified. "It wasn't about Rachel feeling threatened by Elle. It's been interesting because since the second movie came out, I wonder about what'll happen with the third as well. There were a lot of discussions online."
"People felt really passionate about Rachel, and some loved what she was saying and standing for. A lot of people were like, 'I don't get it. She's getting in the way.' It kind of sparked a little bit of conversation, and that I really appreciated because I don't feel like I played her in a jealous way. I don't think she was threatened by Elle because she was another woman," Young added. "I think that's really important to have that narrative told, that story told, but I love that it got people talking, you know what I mean? That's kind of ... I think it's an important conversation because I do think women get pitted against each other all the time, especially when there's a man involved. It's just like, ugh, so old. So boring. Stop doing that."
Fans can now tune into "The Kissing Booth 3" via Netflix.