As an avid romance reader, I celebrate love every month of the year by escaping into books where characters experience a love life that I have yet to conquer. Believe me, I’ve tried, and every single time I have come up empty. Literally. So I stick to my fictional characters and fictional men because let’s be honest, fictional men just do it better. And by “it,” I mean everything.
If a romance reader is lucky, her favorite romance book might get turned into a movie (and this is a BIG year for romance book movie/TV show adaptation announcements, romance book girlies for the win). In my case, the first romance book that got me back into reading after I tragically never picked up a book in high school, was turned into a movie.
It all started on Wattpad (as many romance readers’ journeys do). The original title of the work was The QB Bad Boy and Me by Tay Marley and I was obsessed with it. I read it like a thousand times, and I’m not even exaggerating. I could tell you everything that happened in that book word for word, scene for scene, character for character. I read it so much that to me it was practically a movie already, just in my head. I loved everything about it. I felt extremely connected to the characters, and the best part was that there was a sequel that was just as amazing, as well as a book about the MMC’s parents. Really, life couldn’t get any better than that. That book was the only thing I needed to get me through the day. I thrived off of Drayton and Dallas.
Then the physical copies of the books got published and I would not shut up about it. They were the first two books I bought with my own money, starting my personal library which now has over two hundred romance, fantasy, and romantasy books, with some other genres sprinkled in too. I took those books everywhere, wouldn’t stop talking about it even though they changed one of my favorite characters names (Spencer you have always been missed but I’ve come to terms with Gabby), and read the physical copies possibly more times than the digital ones. The original Wattpad version will always have my heart, like many Wattpad originals do (you will never pry that app away from me, I will be a Wattpad girly for life). They revamped my love for having a physical book in my hand, and I will always and forever be in debt to those books because of it.
To make it even better, the author is probably one of the nicest people I’ve ever talked to. We’ve DM’d a few times on Instagram over the years, and talked about how her romance books propelled me into writing my own romance books. She was always super nice and supportive. When she posted the announcement that her book was being turned into a movie, I was overly ecstatic about it. Tay Marley deserved it, and I got to see my favorite characters come to life. I was all for it.
So, yes, maybe I’m a little biased towards the movie.
Was it fantastic and out of this world? Maybe not so much… but hear me out on this one.
Take it from the girl who knows the book like the back of her hand, I truly couldn’t picture anyone else playing Drayton and Dallas as Noah Beck and Siena Agudong portrayed these characters amazingly. Noah completely captured Dray’s charming yet laid back popular quarterback attitude. The former playboy who met a girl and immediately went soft and would do anything to get his girl. Siena absolutely embodied Dallas’s personal issues and made them come to life, along with her yearning for Dray even though she was scared to be in a relationship. She brought Dallas’s passion for dancing to life so well that I cried (again, probably a biased reaction but her dancing was truly beautiful, and the song choice was criminal. Please watch it I get chills every time). Noah and Siena captured their characters perfectly, even down to the very way that they look. Noah and Siena are Drayton and Dallas, I couldn’t picture a better duo.
And I know what people are thinking. Noah Beck? The TikTok star who has no acting talent? I know, I know, but everyone has to start somewhere right? And honestly, I’m all for romance book movie/TV show adaptations giving aspiring actors a chance in films. Clearly casting famous actors and actresses didn’t work out too well for the one movie that I won’t name but I’m sure you know what I’m talking about since the lawsuit is everywhere so I don’t really need to say it.
Anyway, was the acting in this movie the best acting I’ve ever seen? No. Was it the best movie I’ve ever seen? Also, no. Was it even the best rom-com/romance movie I’ve ever seen? Again, that answer would have to be no. But it was so heartfelt and genuine and that’s truly all I could ask for.
So, now, I can tell you with the most biased opinion ever, that Sidelined: The QB and Me is the perfect movie to watch in February. The romance was cute and fluffy with very little turmoil. Nothing that makes you want to cry, scream, or throw the remote and turn the movie off. You’ll swoon, laugh, maybe even cringe, but isn’t that what cheesy romance movies are all about? Of course the movie wasn’t exactly like the book, but what book-to-movie adaptation is? They changed some of the characters’ storylines and some of the plot. The original book definitely had some darker themes in it, but I’m glad the directors decided to cut them out and give us that typical high school romance. The characters have depth, but not so much that it overwhelms the plot. This movie did young love the way it should be done and did romance in a way that we don’t see too often anymore: simple.
There was nothing overly complicated about Dray and Dallas’s relationship. They were just teenagers with some family problems, who loved each other despite it. There was no ‘other girl’ drama, no love triangles, no pining, no unnecessary third-act break-up (because their very minor, very short, third-act break-up was very reasonable in my opinion and lasted about two seconds max), and no cheating. Dray and Dallas’s love for each other was simple, pure, and just extremely cute and romantic. Their chemistry was everything I read in the books transferred onto the screen (this interview with the two of them gives me life). Trust me when I say this, I’d rather watch pretty good actors have amazing chemistry, than watch amazing actors have horrible chemistry.
This movie was everything a good rom-com should be. Which is why, for the sake of the month of love, watch Sidelined. Snuggle up with a blanket, some popcorn, your drink of choice, and indulge in a very cute, cheesy, and maybe even cringey romance movie because it’s good for the soul.
And if you enjoy it, which you probably will, stay tuned for the sequel. It was just announced, and they’ve already started filming (yay).
Take it from your avid romance reader, this book-to-movie adaptation is worth the watch.