To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Sierra Burgess is a Loser Review

Nevie Smith ’19, Contributor

Over the last few years, Netflix has been producing endless amounts of fan- favorite, original movies, and the last few months have been no exception. The end of the summer brought two new hits available for streaming: To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and Sierra Burgess is a Loser. Both based on recently published books, the movies were aimed towards young adult audiences, and hoped to reach the viewers with a positive and influential message.

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before is not your classic teenage love story. Its originality and somewhat accurate representation of high school made it beyond successful. The Netflix original is about Lara Jean Covey, a high school junior who writes love letters to any boy that she has ever had a crush on, going all the way back to fifth grade. Although she never had any intention of sending the letters, her little sister found all five of the notes and sent them to the boys. When Lara Jean sees two of the boys with her hand-written love letters, chaos ensues and an elaborate plot to save her reputation turns into a love story she had never imagined. Starring Hollywood newbie Lana Condor as the adorable and fashion-forward Lara Jean, and the newest teenage heartthrob of our generation, Noah Centineo, playing the seemingly perfect Peter Kavinsky, the story focuses on the characters’ elaborate relationship, and continues to gain popularity, what seems like every day.

Before I watched this film, I had only seen a few previews, and it wasn’t until almost all my friends told me I absolutely HAD to watch it that I finally streamed it one late night after a volleyball game. I was extremely surprised at how amazing the movie was, and as I continued to watch, it only seemed to get better. Although Noah Centineo and his character were obviously a component of my love for the story (if you’ve seen the movie, I’m sure you totally understand), it was so much more than that; every scene and detail of the movie just continued to get better. Even though I normally do this, I was totally bawling in the final scene, not only because it was so cute, but also because the movie was over. Both the stars and the movie itself have completely blown up the internet and all of social media. It seems like everyone is talking about the film and how much it touched their hearts, which I definitely do not blame them for. I totally recommend this movie to anyone who is looking to watch a rom-com or a cute teenage movie, and I give it an 8.5/10. I’d consider it one of the best movies I watched all summer, which my friends definitely know, because we kind of haven’t stopped talking about it ?.

I unfortunately cannot say the same for the newest addition to the Netflix originals. Sierra Burgess is a Loser is also a teenage love story, but not any kind that you’ve watched before. Sierra Burgess, played by star of Stranger Things (Barb) and Riverdale (Ethel) Shannon Purser, is a self-conscious and self-proclaimed nerd, bullied by almost everyone in her high school. When she gets a text from a wrong number one night, it leads to an epic scheme as she poses as the most popular girl in the school and subsequently begins to fall for the boy that contacted her.

Even though this was supposed to be another cute high school love story, it completely fell short of that. As I was watching the movie with my friends, I couldn’t help but think that it was basically promoting cat-fishing, not to mention the fact that literally all of the characters were completely unlikable. Although most people had high expectations for the newest Netflix film, most reviews strongly criticize the story, and the entire point of the movie. Despite its seemingly obvious efforts to promote a positive and influential message about body image and popularity, those goals were clearly not accomplished after watching the movie. Opposite of Purser, it too stars Noah Centineo as Jamey, so I of course was very much looking forward to watching it with my friends. I really wanted to like the movie, but the message was quite honestly terrible and most who’ve watched it would agree: “I’m not quite sure why they made a movie that shows that there are benefits to cat-fishing… Also, To All the Boys is amazing!” (Sydney Baker, ’19). I would not recommend this movie because it was extremely disappointing, so much so that after me and friends finished watching it, we immediately went back to watching scenes from To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Although Sierra Burgess is a Loser was not as successful, Netflix has still had a great summer, with the production of these two movies.