I don’t know about you guys, but my twitter feed is still drowning in praise for To All the Boys I Loved Before on Netflix starring Lana Condor and Noah Centineo. Specifically, the praise is often aimed at the lovely Noah Centineo who played Peter, the adorable jock who enters into a fake relationship with Lana Condor’s Lara Jean. Good news, if you, like everyone else, fell in love with Peter right along with Lara Jean, well Noah Centineo strikes again in Sierra Burgess is a Loser, also on Netflix and starring alongside Stranger Things’ Shannon Purser as the titular character.
What’s it about?:
A solid question to start with. Keeping with the theme of exaggerated-for-effect-but-not-exactly-unrealistic high school shenanigans that is found in To All the Boys I Loved Before (frequently shortened as TATBILB), Sierra Burgess finds herself in a bit of a pickle when cute and funny Jamey, Noah Centineo’s character, mistakenly texts her instead of resident mean girl Veronica, played by Kristine Froseth. The problem? Sierra Burgess isn’t pretty or popular or skinny like Veronica is and, while it’s Sierra’s words and personality Jamey is falling for, Sierra is terrified he won’t like her because she doesn’t look like Veronica.
What makes it unique?:
One of the aspects that made me so happy about this movie was the friendship that blossomed between Sierra and Veronica once Sierra agrees to tutor Veronica in exchange for her help in this mess. Veronica reluctantly agrees, and through this we learn her life is not as pretty as she is, to say the least. Their friendship develops fairly naturally, albeit quickly (but its high school), and it seems genuine, and that sincerity is something Veronica was definitely drawn to. Sure, they have a dramatic catty scene at the end, which is regrettable, but keeps with the movie’s theme of exaggerated-for-effect-but-not-exactly-unrealistic.
So, not only does this rom com put emphasis on friendship (side note: Sierra’s friend Dan is honestly the most realistic character in the whole movie and never falls into one of the terrible tropes that the guy-friend-of-the-main-female-love-interest often does, so that’s great), and bonus points because they emphasize a female/female friendship, but the movie also puts a lot of emphasis on self-love. Sierra starts the movie off confident, seeming very certain when she says she didn’t care about looks, but that certainty and confidence crumbles when she’s suddenly forced to compare herself with the beautiful Veronica. Sierra’s eventual admittance of her own self doubt at the end is tear jerking and harshly relatable, giving this cute movie some real depth.
Of course, it’s a rom com so she ends up being affirmed that she’s gorgeous by her male love interest, which isn’t ideal but borderline inescapable. It is a rom com, a happy ending means the girl gets the guy. However, I would say that Sierra’s journey is much more focused inward and on her own acceptance rather than Jamey’s acceptance, but maybe that’s just my perception. And that being said, this movie does have a few inherent flaws I should mention.
Okay sounds cute but it can’t be perfect:
You’re right. It can’t be. Alas, hardly anything is. There is some questionability in terms of the basis of the plot, considering it centers around catfishing. There is also the tiniest question of consent when Jamey is on a date with Veronica (with Sierra shadowing) and he tries to kiss her. Veronica tells him to close his eyes and then she trades places with Sierra, so that Sierra can kiss Jamey. Additionally, the aforementioned, although not unexpected, catty scene between the two ladies at the end of the movie, and Sierra being affirmed by the male love interest at the end of the movie.
Overall, it’s a super cute rom com and if you’re going into a rom com, you should expect some unlikely scenarios for drama and to finish the movie feeling warm and fuzzy. Sierra Burgess is a Loser definitely accomplishes just that.