‘Sierra Burgess is a Loser’ Is Meaningful, If Not the Winner You Hoped It Would Be

Netflix’s continued takeover of the teen romcom space gives us the next remix of a familiar trope in Sierra Burgess is a Loser, this time tackling the mistaken-identity-turned-into-romance gambit as Sierra Burgess, a clever teen girl who scrapes the bottom of high school social standings, falls in love with the starting quarterback from the rival school, Jamey. If you hear the echoes of teen movies past, you aren’t the only one, and they only grow louder: Sierra (Shannon Purser, who you may recognize as the late, beloved Barb from Netflix’s Stranger Things) is the subject of malicious ridicule from teen mean girl and cheerleader Veronica, whose cutting insults play out in typical malicious teen-movie-girl fashion complete with two sidekicks to sneer and laugh on cue. It’s only when Veronica (Kristine Froseth) gives her phone number to the star quarterback with a heart of gold (played appropriately by newly-crowned teen heartthrob Noah Centineo) that the plot dives into the deep end as Sierra begins a text messaged-based relationship with her crush, knowing full well he thinks she’s the most popular girl in school and the social antithesis to Sierra Burgess herself.

The old conflict is modernized for today with elements you’d expect to crush this type of premise before it has a chance to take off. What happens when the person you’re catfishing wants to call you? What if they want to FaceTime? How long can you really go before meeting in person to face the music? Sierra Burges…