By: Maliyah Fick
★★★
“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser” was released on Sept. 8 by Netflix. The movie is a rom-com film that stars Shannon Purser as Sierra Burgess, Noah Centineo as Jamey, and Kristine Froseth as Veronica. It was directed by Ian Samuels and produced by Thad Luckinbill. Since it’s release, the Netflix original has created many controversial opinions.
While viewers had greatly anticipated the arrival of the movie because of the trailer that had been released, the movie itself was disappointing. With a poor plot and a very unlikeable main character, what was meant to be an entertaining film did not come across that way to many.
Sierra Burgess, the main character, is a band student who struggles with her self-image. Jamey is a rival school’s quarterback, who meets the mean girl and cheerleader from Sierra’s school, Veronica. When Jamey attempts to get her number, Veronica gives him Sierra’s number instead as a joke. When Sierra receives the text, she doesn’t reveal her true identity. She just lets him to believe he is talking with Veronica.
Through a deal to tutor Veronica in exchange for catfishing Jamey, the pair end up becoming friends. Putting their previous differences and social statuses behind, they start to actually enjoy one another’s company, and eventually begin hanging out outside of their tutor sessions.
During a date with Jamey, Veronica covers his eyes when he attempts to kiss her. Sierra runs over to kiss him. This ends in a very unconsented kiss, one of the main problems within the film. Then Sierra meets Jamey as herself at the park, she pretends to be deaf. Jamey, who has a deaf brother, knows sign language. He attempts to talk to her, and she pretends to understand how to sign.
Despite their newfound friendship, tensions build for Sierra and Veronica when Sierra becomes jealous of Veronica, exposing a secret of hers to their school during a football game. This exposure then leads to the revelation that Sierra has been catfishing Jamey. Veronica proceeds to tell Sierra that she has become the mean girl.
Yet, in the end, Sierra still gets the boy. She also gets to keep her friendship with Veronica.
The movie itself is entertaining to watch. It also portrays relatable themes like the struggle for self-acceptance, the struggle to fit in, and exploring the world outside of your social bubble. There is comedic lines and scenes surely to make one laugh. However, the way the story unfolds on screen leaves a negative tone.
With a main character who went about catfishing a boy and also betraying a friend, she still got her happy ending. Her negative trait list continues with her ignoring her previous best friend (Dan) to live her new and fake life, as well as yelling at her mother for her own appearance. This shows to the viewers that you can go about a situation the wrong way, but still get what you wanted out of it.