I roll my eyes when an actor makes a play to be seen as “serious,” and sh-ts all over the lighter fare they did earlier in their career. You the type I’m talking about – they go on and on about their acting method and dismiss anything in their career that isn’t Oscar-worthy. You can just tell that Saltburn’s Jacob Elordi wants to be taken seriously. He wants to be known as the guy from Priscilla and Euphoria, not any of those silly little teenage rom coms. In an interview last year, he criticized The Kissing Booth, a 2018 Netflix movie he co-starred in with Joey King. Joey, on the other hand, has some healthy perspective on the film. Joey is a former child actor whose career is pretty varied at this point. In a recent interview while promoting her new Hulu miniseries, We Were the Lucky Ones, Joey’s attitude was basically that not every movie has to be Oscar bait, and some movies can exist just to make people feel good.
Joey King is sticking by The Kissing Booth. In fact, the We Were the Lucky Ones star had nothing but positive things to say about the Netflix trilogy.
“When I think about those movies,” Joey exclusively told E! News’ Francesca Amiker, “and how much joy they brought to so many people, I feel really proud.”
The 24-year-old—who is currently promoting her new miniseries We Were the Lucky Ones, which is set to debut Hulu March 28—shared that she also appreciated The Kissing Booth for knowing just what kind of movie it was.
“It’s not trying to be an Oscar-nominated movie or this critically acclaimed picture,” she continued. “And I think that’s the best part about it.”
She added, “It’s meant for you to watch and just have fun, and just kind of melt into the world of color and excitement.”
Joey’s comments came four months after her Kissing Booth costar Jacob Elordi—who Joey dated from 2017 to 2019 after they met on the set of the first movie—had some harsh criticism for the films.
“I didn’t want to make those movies before I made those movies,” he told GQ in November. “Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.”
He also expressed that he didn’t like looking at his role in them with the Hollywood ethos of “one for them, one for me,” adding, “It can become 15 for them, none for you. You have no original ideas and you’re dead inside.”
But Joey isn’t the only Kissing Booth star who had qualms with Jacob’s critiques, as Taylor Zakhar Perez—who joined the cast for the second movie—also shared his disappointment over the Priscilla actor’s sentiments.
“I thought it was a shame because to my knowledge, everybody else had such a wonderful experience,” he told Variety in November. “It’s a shame that was his experience on the set. Especially when those movies came out, it was a time when we really needed something like that.”
“I know from our fan interactions, getting stopped everywhere I go, what Kissing Booth means to people,” Taylor continued, “and what it brought them during such a dark time. I guess the silver lining is he still made people laugh and feel good.”
“I didn’t want to make those movies…Those movies are ridiculous. They’re not universal. They’re an escape.” Omg, Jacob needs to have a seat. Of course they’re not universal! He said it himself: they’re an escape for a certain demographic. I love Joey’s attitude about The Kissing Booth. She gets it and understands that sometimes it’s important to make ridiculous movies that fans love watching. Jacob should not underestimate the power of building a fan base from doing movies like those, especially the ones geared towards teenagers and young adults. I thought Heath Ledger kicked ass as the Joker in The Dark Knight, but I became a fan of his because teenage me loved 10 Things I Hate About You.
I don’t think I’m alone when I say that as much as I appreciate the work that goes into films like Oppenheimer, I also love the crap outta some pretty ridiculous movies. I am not ashamed to admit the first National Treasure is one of my favorite movies! And, one of my go-to mindless action movies is – try to hold your laughter – White House Down with Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx, and…Joey King! Thanks for making some fun, ridiculous movies, Joey. I appreciate that you get it.
Photos credit: Marcos Cruz/Netflix, IMAGO/Jennifer Bloc / Avalon and via Instagram
