| Jennifer Lawrence’s No Hard Feelings was faced with initial skepticism because of its premise of a high school boy’s parents paying an older woman to date him, but then received good reviews, audiences got on board, and people had fun with the plot that was in fact based in truth. But now Tubi’s Kissing Is the Easy Part, flips the premise, reverses the genders, and still keeps it fun despite arguably being further from reality. | | 2026
Directed by: Fawzia Mirza
Screenplay by: Christine Duann, Rebecca Webb
Starring: Paris Berelc, Asher Angel
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In 2018, 20-year-old Paris Berelc played a high school girl in Alexa & Katie as she first became famous, and now eight years later, and 28 years old, she’s still playing a high school girl, and a little less convincingly this time. Won’t someone please let this actress graduate and actually attend college for once? Regardless, she’s a charming, charismatic, gorgeous young woman who looks the part of a really rich, really popular, really hot girl who essentially runs the school. Flora knows it. So she does what she wants, which in typical teenage fashion involves doing the opposite of what her parents want: get good grades, take the SATs, and go to college; so she parties, drinks, flirts, and is careful to not let anyone see that she’s actually smart, has taken the SATs, and will go to college, but on her own terms, without her parents knowledge.
After a party ends badly, and hot physics nerd Sean (Asher Angel) takes her home and ends up spending the night, Flora’s parents do what any not-normal, rich parents would do: bribe Sean with a recommendation letter to MIT and pay him to date their daughter, hoping his inclination towards school would rub off on her. Most guys are scared of Flora, Sean is too, but now he has to ask her out, and it surprisingly works.
From here on out, the movie follows all expected paths including Sean and Flora naturally being a great pair for each other. There are so many small, but great aspects that make this movie surprisingly fun. For instance, Flora is smart, she just pretends not to be, often leading to some humorous reactions. Flora’s parents are the funniest parents this genre has seen; they only know science and they make some half-hearted attempts to lean teen-speak but fail. Schitt’s Creek alums Jennifer Robertson and Rizwan Manji lend their familiar faces to enjoyable roles. Flora also forms a genuine and cute relationship with Sean’s younger sister.
Kissing Is the Easy Part takes an already incredulous premise and flips it into something even more outlandish but manages to make it heartfelt and fun. While it’s easy to see where the movie is headed, it’s still enjoyable to watch it get there. Kissing Is the Easy Part is an easy watch and an easy recommendation for anyone looking for a teen romance.
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