Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List

Naomi Mills Victoria Justice and Ely have been best friends and neighbors in the same New York City apartment building for years. Ely is openly gay and often exploring casual hookups, while Naomi is straight and has recently begun dating Bruce 2 Ryan Ward, all the while secretly loving Ely. The pair share a motto they live by and a practical, stubborn optimism about love, friendship, and the messy truths that come with growing up.

They live with the weight of Naomi’s family life, too. Naomi’s mother Ginny Maddie Corman is doing her best to keep things afloat as her father left after an affair, and Naomi has spent years watching her mother struggle while she clings to a dream of one day seeing Ely fall in love with her. In private, Naomi’s longing is tangled with fear—fear that admitting her feelings could ruin the bond she treasures most. Their dynamic is playful and intimate, but it’s also fragile, especially when the lines between friendship and romance blur.

The film wastes no time pulling Naomi into a test of loyalty. Naomi and Ely have a rigid pact to protect each other from certain guys by keeping a literal “No Kiss List.” When they add Gabriel, their young and handsome doorman, to the list, it marks the start of a more complicated season, as the woman Naomi is becoming starts to see her best friend in a different light. Naomi’s frustration grows as Ely isn’t always available when she needs him, and she feels the sting of unfulfilled longing. Ely, for his part, pushes back with honesty, telling Naomi that her frustration may be masking something deeper—his sexuality and his own evolving sense of freedom.

One night, Naomi invites Ely along on a double-date with Bruce 2, hoping to share a fun evening and perhaps clear her head. What begins as a lively night quickly turns tense as the situation exposes the kiss Naomi has kept secret and the growing tension between Naomi and Ely. The night ends with a messy, unspoken confession that leaves both friends reeling. Days later, Ely spots Bruce in the hallway and, trying to hold on to normalcy, offers him a drink while Naomi is tucked away in the moment, only to discover a hidden truth: Bruce isn’t just a casual fling—there’s a deeper, undeniable connection that complicates their already fragile balance. The moment is underscored by small, telling clues—an alibi built around ordinary habits, a shared interest in comics, and a growing sense that Naomi’s fantasies might be closer to reality than she realized.

Amidst the chaos, a Halloween outing becomes a catalyst. Naomi and Ely start preparing costumes, and Ely confesses that the kiss wasn’t just a spur-of-the-moment mistake; Naomi, overwhelmed, brushes it off while a mixtape arrives in her mailbox from an admirer. The mixtape turns out to be from Gabriel, who admits he’s had a crush on her since the moment they met, a revelation that redirects Naomi’s attention in surprising directions. The revelation lands as Naomi and Ely’s relationship shifts from casual closeness to something more mature and self-aware.

As Naomi wrestles with her feelings, she begins to see a path forward that doesn’t require choosing one kind of love over another. She throws herself into supporting her mother and keeps applying for a job to help Ginny heal and regain some stability, even as she negotiates the tricky terrain of her own heart. Naomi also begins to see that letting go of Ely doesn’t have to mean letting go of the person she loves most: a realization that grows clearer as she watches Ely start to settle into a life with Bruce 2, accepting a future that includes love of a different kind.

The story culminates in a quiet, hopeful conversation where Naomi recognizes that relationships and friendships are different kinds of love, each valid and meaningful in its own right. She comes to understand that love isn’t a single path but a constellation of connections, where people can care deeply for more than one person at once. The film closes on a soft, enduring note: everyone can have more than one special person in their life, and honesty about who they are can deepen every connection they treasure.

Young Naomi Lily James makes a brief memory complicate the present, reminding the audience of how far Naomi and Ely have come. The film’s emotional center remains Naomi’s evolving acceptance of Ely’s sexuality and their eventual, mature decision to navigate love and friendship with openness and respect. Throughout, the performances paint a nuanced portrait of longing, loyalty, and the sometimes painful but ultimately hopeful journey toward being true to oneself while staying connected to the people who matter most.