Episode 01 – Phantom of the Kissing Booth

ohyeahthatthing

Oh, boy! What a way to start!

Pay’s Thing this episode is Phantom of the Paradise, a movie she just hadn’t seen yet. This was genuinely surprising since Adri fucking.loves.this.movie.

Phantom of the Paradise poster, French DVD, Blu-Ray, vinyl soundtrack
Not pictured are the VHS and CD, or Adri’s Phantom-inspired tattoo. Also not pictured is an original theater poster this replica is based on because someone outbid Adri for it in 2007. She’s totally not bitter.

In fact, her love of this movie has existed almost as long as this friendship. She just never brought it to a dang movie sleepover. (Those were mostly saved for DCOMs and Degrassi: the Next Generation.) Long overdue, Adri was excited to hear what Pay thought.

A few highlights:

  • One time, Adri met Paul Williams and managed not to freak out. (Bonus fact: Paul wanted to take a selfie, but Adri didn’t have a phone capable of such a thing.)
  • Could there ever be a remake that would actually be good? Who is the perfect Phantom? Who would be the best Swan?
  • Is there a person on this earth who is as powerful as Swan? (Yes, she exists.)

There is so much more we could’ve discussed about the history of this movie, but we just couldn’t get to it all. And we probably got a couple facts wrong, so we highly recommend The Swan Archives if you’re interested in more about the movie. (Adri has certainly spent countless hours on that site over the years…)

Elle is caught between the two most important men in her life: a hot maniac who needs therapy and a floppy-haired, DDR knock-off expert.

Adri’s Thing this episode is The Kissing Booth, a teen romantic comedy that Netflix surprisingly didn’t suggest for her. Luckily Pay had seen it and knew there was plenty to say about this dang movie.

As it turns out, there are only a few movies that Pay likes enough to force others to watch… and Adri’s seen them all. Boo. So, what’s almost as fun as movies that are good and enjoyable to watch? Movies that are bad and enjoyable to watch, of course. In came The Kissing Booth, a delightfully mediocre movie that gave Pay’s eyeballs such a good workout that she just had to share.

A few highlights:

  • Check out the trailer and experience the majority of this movie’s “plot” in less than 3 minutes!
  • Please help us solve this episode’s biggest mystery: Are Lee and Noah’s parents Hollywood’s most prolific porn producers?
  • Below, Pay actually solves this episode’s second biggest mystery: Just how long does it take for two teens to get from their mansions in the Hollywood Hills to an arcade on the Santa Monica pier?