Sierra Burgess is a Loser was welcomed with opened arms to many Netflix viewers. This is due to its seemingly heartwarming messages of body positivity and relatable high school scenarios. However, do a quick google search and you soon realize that Sierra hasn't won any awards. Labeled as comedy, romance, and drama, Sierra isn't anything more than an overrated teen flick with a cast too talented for the generic plot and bluntly creepy storyline. The show appeared in my 'Since You Watched’ box as I was scrolling through my Netflix suggestions during a rare few hours of free time on a September afternoon. Needless to say, I truly wished I never clicked on the offensive, cliche, and confusing rom-com. Starring Barb from Stranger Things and the infamous Peter Kavinsky from To All The Boys I've Loved Before, the 105 minute long debacle isn't exactly the love story I expected.

The "relationship" between Jamey (Noah Centineo) and Sierra (Shannon Purser) begins when high school mean girl Veronica (Kristine Froseth) decides to give Sierras number to Jamey as a cruel joke because only "losers hang out with losers”. Jamey begins texting Sierra (who he thinks is Veronica) and Sierra plays along, not knowing who he is or how he got her number. She eventually realizes Jamey actually thinks she's Veronica and decides the best decision is to get Veronica involved to continue the deception. This came as a shock to me because of the witty and confident protagonist that we are meant to love suddenly becomes a catfish and a liar. This is where the movie goes terribly wrong.

Ian Samuels, the director of Sierra, hasn’t had any experience in teen rom coms which might have contributed to the movie’s failure. He's only directed three other films, with Sierra being his most known work. Besides great actors and good timing (social media and star power wise) this movie is a sloppy and stereotypical version of Edmond Rostand’s, Cyrano de Bergerac. Hopefully, he can redeem himself as a director in another, less flawed, movie.

The cinematography in Sierra is one of the biggest factors in my viewpoint about this movie. What separates a good movie from an "okay" one is the ability to make the audience feel completely in the scene. When the camera only shows you part of a crucial text for 3 seconds or so, it almost automatically becomes just an okay movie. In order for Sierra’s viewers to believe in the characters’ dialogue or simply just to be able to follow the plot depends on how much the audience is exposed to. Nonetheless, the characters of Sierra and Jamey are truly alive and relatable with the script they were given. Both Purser and Centineo are incredibly talented actors who pay attention to every detail while on set. As Sierra hides underneath her blanket just before she's about to call Jamey or Jamey tries to take a shirtless selfie to impress Sierra (who he still believes is Veronica), you can really tell how much effort and dedication the actors had throughout the movie.

It's truly the biggest ordeal in order to feel any sympathy for the main character Sierra. She catfishes poor Jamey because of her own personal insecurities, basically bribes Veronica into helping her make the fantasy relationship with Jamey last longer, and ends up facing NO repercussions for ANY of her actions. This lack of character development results in the audience actually wanting Sierra to face consequences for abandoning her best friend Dan, who's been nothing but supportive, and backstabbing Veronica because she has a jealous outburst.

Sierra Burgess is a Loser teaches a refreshing lesson every teen should understand. It doesn't matter what size, race, gender, sexuality, or religion you are because we are ALL worthy of love and acceptance. Unfortunately, the poor cinematography, lack of character development and the glorification of cat fishing made Sierra one of the worst rom corns on Netflix. Not even the infamous Noah Centineo or Shannon Purser could revive this flick. Just be you, unless of course you're Sierra Burgess.