Sierra Burgess Is a Loser

I think this movie really has some problematic points and makes it a point to excuse some pretty dark behaviors. Like what I want to move this forward and down to a 6 after what I read on Twitter. This film is so tragic. Plus the movie was weird in the end anyway and the pacing was off.

Sierra is a total asshole... the hell is wrong with this stupid storyline man.

I was excited to watch this movie, Netflix has been making decent rom-coms lately and this plot had a teenage-catcher plot that no one can't deny. The movie starts good, the characters are great, but I want to focus on Sierra:

They didn't give her qualities for you to make you feel connected to that character. I'm not talking about popularity, I'm talking about quirks, things they like to do that make her look interesting. Yeah, she is a cute nerd, she is a kind girl (most part of the movie) but apart from that, what's her catch? What makes her special? Does she like to spend her weekend reading? Give me something. They didn't even give her insecurities importance, only mentioned once.

They mention -emphasis on the mention- she likes to sing but during the movie she only does once. She sings a beautiful song, at the last 10 minutes of the movie... Thank you. It still wasn't enough to make you feel connected with her after what she did to her friend in the movie. (I'm trying not to spoil here) and, after what she did, the conflict was solved in like, 30 seconds. Wtf.

Her character is boring. Her relationship with Jamey is boring and not believable at all. Wow, they connected sending each other's pictures of animals. How romantic -sarcasm alert- and to wrap it all, she end up being a jerk, and for me, only jerks are losers. So yes, Sierra is indeed a loser.

Now, let's get to the other characters.

I liked Jamey's character and Dan's, they are well portrayed. Thumbs up.

But last but not least, Veronica. She steals the sentimental catch. She ends up being the character with more sentimental appeal. When she takes her bad-girl-mask she is actually a better person than Sierra.

In the middle of the movie I thought Veronica was going to end up with Jamey instead because there was more chemistry between them than with Sierra. Veronica was too kind to Sierra, really.

Overall, I wouldn't watch the movie again, a good idea with an average/bad team behind it. A recommendation to Netflix, a good script changes with a decent director is everything, every word counts.

I went in thinking this movie was going to have a message about body positivity and female friendship, but this was a little disappointing. Mistaken identity can be a fun trope in a romcom but I had a difficult time with this one. Instead of rooting for the lead female character, I ended up rooting for the female antagonist instead.

In the beginning, I found Sierra likable enough and I was eager to see what was going to happen next. She seemed comfortable in her skin. But as the story progressed, there were certain behavioral patterns in her character that left me quite horrified. For instance, the catfishing was pretty creepy. I don't understand how this could be considered romantic. Honestly, I really like stories that feature an online friendship that turns into romance (A Cinderella Story was a great example of the sub-genre) but the catfishing bit was too much to take. This would definitely not have been considered romantic had the gender roles been reversed. A guy doing the same things would definitely have been strictly persecuted, so how come no one objected to this during pre-production?

The cast did a nice job. I loved RJ Cyler as the best friend and Kristine Froseth was great as Veronica (she actually made me root for her). Noah Centineo is a dreamboat as usual (sensitive jock roles really suit him, I think). It was refreshing to see Shannon play the role of Sierra Burgess. She was great with the emotional scenes and I do feel this role wasn't able to do justice to her talent. She deserved better than a character like that.

Sierra's character is a self absorbed "smarty pants" character with absolutely nothing going on for her. At no point in the movie you root for her to win over her love interest.

Deceiving someone into thinking you are someone else is simply wrong and in no way should be romanticized.

By the way - Sierra is just as shallow as Veronica or anyone else. The only reason she's into the guy is because he SENT a picture of him right off the bat. Would've she reacted differently if he didn't look as a catalog model? I definately think so.