On September 7th, Netflix released its newest original film: Sierra Burgess Is A Loser. The romantic-comedy follows Sierra Burgess (Shannon Purser), a witty high school senior with straight A’s and no fear when standing up to mean girl Veronica (Kristine Froseth).
As she navigates high school with her best friend, Dan (RJ Kyler) the only thing Sierra can be bothered by is her Stanford application. That is, until she receives a mysterious text from Jamey (Noah Centineo); Jamey is a football quarterback on the outside, and a dorky nice-guy on the inside. He begins texting Sierra after Veronica teasingly gives him Sierra’s number in place of hers. As the over-the-phone bond between the two grows stronger, Sierra’s former confidence begins to falter, knowing she does not physically live up to who Jamey thinks she is. Sierra then makes a trade with Veronica, tutoring her in exchange for help in convincing Jamey she isn’t who she really is.
While the film fits into the romance genre, it’s not just about a girl falling in love with a boy, but about a girl falling in love with herself. In a raw, honest, and equally comedic fashion, the story emphasizes the pressures to look perfect that teenage girls face in high school; the film also portrays the strong presence and impact of social media in the lives of the current generation, and how that presence increases those same pressures. As Sierra and Veronica grow closer through their deal, their unlikely friendship represents the importance of getting to know somebody beyond their appearance.
The movie provides both a feel-good, modern love story and an important message of embracing who you are inside and out, and accepting others as they are as well.