Saturday, October 06, 2018

Movie Review: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018)


  • Title: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser
  • Director: Ian Samuels 
  • Distributed by: Netflix 
  • Music by: Leland, Sabrina Carpenter
  • Running time: 1h 45m
  • Initial release: September 7, 2018 (USA) 
  • Genres: Comedies, Romantic Comedies, Romantic Movies
  • Starring: Shannon Purser, Kristine Froseth, RJ Cyler
Synopsis: A wrong-number text sparks a virtual romance between a smart but unpopular teen and a sweet jock who thinks he's talking to a gorgeous cheerleader.

My rating: 2/5 stars (★)

Do you want to know how it feels to be catfished? Watch the trailer of this movie and then think of every positive things that comes to your mind—and then watch the movie, only for your positive thoughts to be diminished over the obsession of a girl towards a boy. Yes, that's basically what the whole story is about: an obsession towards a boy.

I was super excited when the trailer was released. I had thought, after some horrible teenage shows Netflix was releasing, they decided to make it up by releasing a film that promotes self-confidence and body positivity. Sure, I expected the catfishing, but I didn't expect it to get to this extent. 

Right, let's get into the characters. Sierra (Shannon Purser) is okay at first; though she is the textbook girl that nobody likes and avoids, has only one true friend and is often bullied by the pretty girls at school. A typical representation of the main character for a chick flick. But what I liked about her was how she was able to defend herself from the mean girls. The best part about Sierra is that she's good with her words. Sadly, that's probably just it. She didn't shine in the story at all despite her being the main character.

And then we have Veronica (Kristine Froseth), another textbook character. Beautiful, "has 20k followers", acts bitchy towards the unpopular kids and not so smart in academics. But what actually intrigued me to watch this movie is how Veronica ends up befriending Sierra after their toxic encounters. It's good to see how much a mean person can actually change when they're desperate, and Veronica actually changed for the good. To see how raw she became when Sierra saw how her actual life is; a genuine friendship even bloomed through their deal to catfish the guy. Beneath all the layers of attitude she showed to the world, there's kindness in her. I actually love Veronica, after she befriended Sierra, of course.

Jamey (Noah Centineo), well, I wouldn't really say he's a textbook character of anything, but his character fell rather flat. He's just a boy in love with a pretty girl. I appreciate that even though he has the looks, his friends are still regular kids and not the jocks. He's very nice to his little brother who is deaf, which is a plus. Yet other than that, I couldn't find other qualities of him that I like. As for Sierra's friend, Dan (RJ Cyler), I immediately liked him the moment he was introduced in the story. He's a funny and happy guy, also the one loyal friend. His character really helped in making the story better.

Plotwise, I really would like to call it cliche, but I can't come up with any example of films to prove it. But, I did almost stop halfway through this movie, simply because it gets predictable and there were really nothing special about it.

One thing that I appreciate in Sierra Burgess Is a Loser would be the essence of friendship that it has, of course, during the good moments. I enjoyed Sierra and Dan's friendship, though I do admit that it's a lot better thanks to Dan. Sierra and Veronica's friendship is surprising but not impossible, they actually fit each other so well. If the toxic part of what Sierra did to Veronica after misunderstanding a situation with Jamey is excluded, I think this movie do have something good in it. It's all about trusting each other and accepting someone you love for who they are.

What I don't appreciate is that as a main character, Sierra's character did not develop much. Until the end, when things go wrong, she blamed her physical instead of actually realising that it all started with her own attitude. There is actually truth being portrayed in her character of course, but at the same time it feels absurd too. All in all, I didn't end up liking the movie much.

Any thoughts on this movie? Did you enjoy it?


Till next time ♡ Love, Aishah Humaira'

2 comments

  1. i've watched the movie today and i think i agreed with you. i think i put a high expectation on the movie haha.

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    1. Yeah, the trailer definitely made it look good. I was hoping for something more inspiring.

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