"Sierra Burgess Is A Loser" Just Dropped On Netflix, FYI

    There's at least one "woah woah woah" from Noah Centineo.

    Jenna Guillaume
    by Jenna Guillaume

    Editor-at-Large, BuzzFeed Australia

    It's no secret that everyone at BuzzFeed – along with the rest of the internet – has been high-key obsessed with Noah Centineo since To All The Boys I've Loved Before dropped three weeks ago.

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    And I personally have been excited about his next movie, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, since the trailer dropped back in July.

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    It stars Shannon Purser as the titular Sierra Burgess, who catfishes a jock called Jamey (that'd be our boyfriend Noah) by pretending to be head cheerleader Veronica (Kristine Froseth). RJ Cyler plays Sierra's best friend Dan, while Alan Ruck and Lea Thompson play her parents, and Chrissy Metz plays Veronica's mother.

    The good news is the movie dropped on Netflix today!

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    If you're super into teen movies, you'll probably want to check it out.

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    Noah Centineo is his dreamy, charming self as Jamey. He's playing another Soft™ jock here, although the character is much more awkward than the smooth Peter Kavinsky – but in a pretty endearing way.

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    (Also I counted at least one "woah woah woah" if, like me, that's the kind of thing you care about.)

    It's also fantastic to see a plus-size lead character who is actually played by a plus-size actor, and treated as a human rather than the butt of all the jokes.

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    (Especially after the mess that was Insatiable.)

    There are some pretty cute moments.

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    And the friendship that develops between Sierra and Veronica as a result of all the catfishing hijinks is quite lovely.

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    That being said...this is not what I'd call an amazing movie.

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    It's lacking the charm, authenticity, wit and energy that makes for a great teen rom-com. The actors do their best, but they don't have much to work with. The whole thing feels rather slow and somehow muted. It doesn't help that the plot relies heavily on text message conversations – something that is hard to dramatise at the best of times. Sierra Burgess tries to resolve this by having most of the conversations – the basis of the connection between Sierra and Jamey – occur off-screen, which is frustrating for the viewer. And what is shown is pretty basic and uninteresting.

    Things pick up when Sierra and Jamey actually start talking over the phone, but then the plot spins out in directions that made me uncomfortable. I won't go into details because of ~spoilers~, but there are several jokes and moments that just didn't sit well with me.

    Check it out for yourself – if for nothing else than to feed your Noah Centineo crush.

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    If you do watch it, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments below – or @ me on Twitter.