If you were a One Direction fan back in the day, then you have probably read your fair share of fanfiction. I know I read too many Harry Styles fanfictions to count…including one called After, which actually was published as a book recently. Well, now this lovely fanfiction about “bad boy” Harry Styles has been made into a movie. And you better believe I watched it.
This movie is nothing short of bad decisions and second-hand embarrassment. I tried to come up with a list of everything good and bad about the film, but most of it was bad. So I’m focusing on the bad.
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Tessa’s boyfriend or brother?
When the movie starts we see Tessa, her mom, and another guy who we’re not quite sure who he is. He comes along for the drive to bring Tessa to college. It’s not until much later that they show any physical intimacy or even call each other girlfriend or boyfriend. They look way too similar to be dating. Kinda creeped me out.
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Tessa’s Roommate
Tessa’s roommate is already moved in, assumably an upperclassman, and the complete opposite of Tessa. Her mom suggests finding a new roommate which would’ve been a great idea and would have kept her out of all the trouble she got into later, but Tessa is a grown-up now so she decided she wanted to stay.
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See ya!
Tessa’s mom and boyfriend/brother drop her off and then leave. Like literally bring one load to her room and then leave. They don’t help her set up or anything. That’s just mean.
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New and Improved Harry?
Soon Tessa meets Hardin (aka Harry Styles) who is just casually chilling in her room. Hardin looks even younger than Tessa’s boyfriend/brother and has exactly zero resemblance to Harry. Honestly, I didn’t think he was even that cute.
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Peer Pressure
Tessa goes to a party with her roommate in a dress that I’m pretty sure I owned in 2012. She hangs out with her roommate’s friends, the emo partiers. It’s an odd group, I really don’t know what to call them. They pressure her into drinking which is something that hardly ever happens and she does it. Why doesn’t she go find some friends that don’t pressure her to do what she doesn’t want to do?
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Hardin’s Tattoos
This is a constant horrible factor throughout the movie. It seems like a 10-year-old bought temporary tattoos and just stuck them all over their body. You can tell they are fake and they are just so oddly placed you can’t help but notice it. A few of his tattoos resemble Harry’s but they placed them in different locations. It bugged me the whole movie and I couldn’t stop looking at them.
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Snoopy Tessa
Tessa decides to explore while the party is going on and decides to wander into people’s bedrooms and snoop through their belongings. Why?! Who does that?
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Hardin’s Obsession
Suddenly Hardin is everywhere Tessa is and he decides to take her to his favorite place. His favorite place is a dock at a lake. He drives her into the woods and she willingly follows him. That is literally a scene from a horror movie. He could be taking her to his secret cabin where he kills all his admirers. She doesn’t even know him but she gets in the car and lets him lead her to a mysterious location in the woods. WHY?!
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Love at First Sight
Suddenly Hardin and Tessa are in love. She skips class to be with him. They are spending every second of every day together. She practically threw her life away to be with this dude.
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Rebellion
Tessa’s mom comes to her school to confront her because she isn’t answering her phone and is failing all her classes. Her mom walks in on Tessa and Hardin almost naked in her bed. My question is, how did she get to Tessa’s room? Like, don’t you have to be checked in like at every other college ever. Anyway, Tessa chooses Hardin over her mom and her mom tells her that she’s cut off. A little dramatic, but for the most part, I’m on the mom’s side.
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Housesitting
For some bizarre reason, a professor trusts Hardin to watch her loft apartment for an entire semester while she’s abroad. Hardin decides to move in with Tessa in the professor’s home! They’re sleeping in her bed and sitting in her bathtub and eating Chinese food on her nice furniture. They are so irresponsible it physically hurts me. I gave myself a headache from cringing during this entire part of the movie.
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And It Was All a Dream
The worst books and movies are when the story ends with the main character waking up and realizing it was a dream. Like those are the worst! Just finish the story! This one is pretty similar by saying that Hardin liking Tessa was all a dare. He tries to tell her that he likes her now but she runs the miles back to her dorm room in the pouring rain in the middle of the night. This girl is real dumb.
I literally can’t remember the end of this movie because I was so focused on the absurdity of the plot, or lack thereof. I know this started off as a fanfiction which does make it better. But, whoever had the idea to make it into a movie was pushing it. The least they could have done is chosen a better actor to play “Harry”. Overall, I give After a half of a star. It only gets that much because it made me laugh at the stupidity of the characters. This movie should’ve stayed on Wattpad.