In today’s world, social interactions have truly changed in how teenagers communicate and connect with each other. The Netflix Original rom-com Sierra Burgess is a Loser is a film that tackles how teenagers try to navigate through uncharted territory of not only finding love but also themselves. The film stars Shannon Purser (Stranger Things) as Sierra Burgess who seems to be relegated socially as a “loser” or at least an outsider. In the cruel world of high school hierarchy, she is not considered as the pretty one or even slightly athletic, yet she is content with this reality. Sierra is however incredibly smart and is focused on boosting her high school resume to get into college. Along with her best friend Dan (RJ Cyler), they perfectly compliment and support each other through all the distressful times that high school can provide. One day Sierra receives a text message from Jamey (a popular jock quarterback from a different high school) and they begin a relationship full of emojis and cute animal pictures. Jamey however is completely unaware that he is texting Sierra, since he believes he is communicating with beautiful Veronica. Veronica (Kristine Froseth) is your typical cheerleading heartless beauty queen who simply enjoys tormenting everyone. When Jamie approaches Veronica and asks for her number, she impetuously gives Sierra’s number out as a prank to stir up some callous fun.
Netflix has recently boosted its inventory with rom-coms and many of them have been genuinely intriguing and unique. However, Sierra Burgess is a Loser tries to blend its modern perspective of relationships with worn out tropes and tiring themes. Many would consider Mean Girls as the pinnacle of teen rom-coms, which had a great cast and a balance of sincere and funny material. Sierra Burgess is a Loser constantly feels as if the film is trying to capture that same essence but falls short as the audience has seen most of the incidents displayed already. Many of the supporting characters are hallowed out renditions of stereotypes that might not be relevant in today’s teenage world, yet they continue to be used. Does every lonely outcast have a gay best friend? Not to mention that the adult characters in the film are hapless and clueless about what their teens are up too and in Sierra’s case, her parents are completely blind to her personal misfortunes and how she struggles to not live in their shadows.
I do give credit to the film for trying to merge the aspect of adolescent relationships with today’s Tinder/Snapchat dating realm. The film shows how two people can have a blossoming relationship without ever meeting each other face to face. In this case, the “phomance” (Phone only romance… yes, I just made that up) is built off a constructed joke but is still sincerely charming and cute. The brightest spot is Sierra herself, as Shannon Purser plays on her mixture of eloquent awkwardness and honest vulnerability to perfection. It’s nice to see Barb finally escape the Upside Down world and find a nice boy to chat with. Beyond the overused and tiring themes, Sierra Burgess is a Loser can provide limited enjoyment but like a drunk text you received from someone last night, don’t expect anything earth shattering…
2 out of 5
