Sierra Burgess Is a Loser (2018) User Reviews

Veronica is a sweetheart

[luciabcn86 · 5/10 · 19 September 2018]

I only watched this movie because Noah was so darn cute in "To all the boys I've loved before" and I've mentally reverted to my 15 year old self.

The movie didn't have much momentum, I could have stopped watching it at any time. The only reason I didn't is because of the character of Veronica who showed real character development and just turned into a sweet, nice girl by the end of it all.

Meanwhile, the main character, Sierra, just got worse and worse and I wish I could say by the end of it that she got what was coming to her, but she didn't.

After Jamey finds out just how deceiving Sierra is, I don't understand why he decided to go and take Sierra to homecoming at the end - in my opinion, the two characters hadn't shown much connection via the phone anyway (unless sending animal pics to one another is connecting), and after finding out that she had lied to him and deceived him, why would he want to then go and find her? And then he has a monologue about how special she is, when it should be her who is apologising and making things right (?).

And as for Veronica, Sierra did a horrible, unforgivable thing to her, and Veronica forgave her, again without really any effort from Sierra (other than confirming to Veronica that maybe she will be a singer when she 'grows up', which I don't think is an apology), and in any case, Sierra showed herself capable of behaving in a purely malicious and ghastly way, unlike Veronica who was basically acting as Sierra had asked her to, except it unintentionally went too far. Why would she still want to be friends with this girl who completely humiliated and hurt her in front of everyone, no matter what the reason?

To be honest I would have liked to see Veronica and Jamey get together at the end, because I don't see why Sierra should get away with all the mess she caused. Being insecure doesn't give a licence to betray everyone. Except this movie apparently thinks it does.

Kinda Horrifying

[Jini-B · 6/10 · 25 February 2019]

I went in thinking this movie was going to have a message about body positivity and female friendship, but this was a little disappointing. Mistaken identity can be a fun trope in a romcom but I had a difficult time with this one. Instead of rooting for the lead female character, I ended up rooting for the female antagonist instead.

In the beginning, I found Sierra likable enough and I was eager to see what was going to happen next. She seemed comfortable in her skin. But as the story progressed, there were certain behavioral patterns in her character that left me quite horrified. For instance, the catfishing was pretty creepy. I don't understand how this could be considered romantic. Honestly, I really like stories that feature an online friendship that turns into romance (A Cinderella Story was a great example of the sub-genre) but the catfishing bit was too much to take. This would definitely not have been considered romantic had the gender roles been reversed. A guy doing the same things would definitely have been strictly persecuted, so how come no one objected to this during pre-production?

The cast did a nice job. I loved RJ Cyler as the best friend and Kristine Froseth was great as Veronica (she actually made me root for her). Noah Centineo is a dreamboat as usual (sensitive jock roles really suit him, I think). It was refreshing to see Shannon play the role of Sierra Burgess. She was great with the emotional scenes and I do feel this role wasn't able to do justice to her talent. She deserved better than a character like that.

She really is

[majnejmizmina · 6/10 · 12 September 2018]

Sierra Burgess is not only a loser in this movie, but also she is a bad person, she is also only thinking about herself and the worst part for me besides hacking Veronica's instagram was when she didn't stop her from having sex with that guy even when she heard him said that he told Veronica she's insecure!!! I was routing for Jamey and Veronica and i actually really liked her!! THE MEAN GIRL WAS BETTER THEN THE LEAD CHARACTER!!! So frustrated about ending. Veronica really liked and deserved Jamey. And also, that song is beautiful but it was just wrong on so many levels. Sierra was mean and all of a sudden she is writing love songs blah blah we don't care girl. Bye

Only for Noah

[seomoonyoung · 9 September 2018]

The movie fails to make any impact whatsoever. The only reason I am giving it 4 starts is for Noah Centineo.

kinda dry

[belllatrixy · 6/10 · 8 September 2018]

Alright here we go buckle up. I was really excited to see this movie because the hype made it seem so worth it. I loved the entire concept of catfishing and really wanted to see how the plot of this would be revealed. However, the first 20 minutes in and I remember feeling not hooked onto it and overall thinking it was kind of dry. Same old same old typical teen com. The imposter Mean Girls weren't all too impressive either. Regardless, I wanted to see what happened next. Skip to like the middleish, the plot was going good. I liked how Veronica got a sort of revelation to her dumb antics. But then near the end where Sierra sees Veronica and Jamie kissing and getts mad over it to a point where she literally cruelly betrays her friend by exposing her was really over the top, ridiculous, unrealistic and yawn-worthy. It gets worse because rather than apologising to Veronica and Jamie properly, she instead writes a song in which she's victimising herself and having a big whine. Like I get where she is coming from, but lack of self esteem doesn't give you an excuse to treat people badly. Then near the end she says to Jamie, "do you ever feel like the world is conspiring against you?" - something along those cliche lines - yeah she should have left it at the sorry rather than trying to justify it. Stop. Anyways it was okay, I feel like it could have been portrayed better because the concept was great.

Upon further thought

[crazygowoo · 6/10 · 10 September 2018]

I think this movie really has some problematic points and makes it a point to excuse some pretty dark behaviors. Like what I want to move this forward and down to a 6 after what I read on Twitter. This film is so tragic. Plus the movie was weird in the end anyway and the pacing was off.

"Veronica Is A Good Person"

[r-bea623 · 4/10 · 8 September 2018]

This movie should have been titled "Veronica Is A Good Person."

The only reasons I'm giving this movie more than 1 star are the cast and that it kept me engaged and interested. The first half of the movie had me hopeful that Sierra and Jamey will develop a connection, Sierra will do the right thing, and all will be perfect.

In the latter half it becomes evident that Sierra is selfish, entitled, and just plain mean. She takes no responsibility for her own choices, even against the advice of her best friend. Rather, she blames everything/everyone else to justify her actions. (My gorgeous mother stuck me with this body...my friend kissed my boyfriend who actually thinks I'm her...living under my dad's shadow is making it difficult for me to find my own identity). To echo the reviews of those who were equally frustrated, it's ridiculous that Sierra came out of the mess she created unscathed, with perfect boyfriend showing up unexpectedly to take her to homecoming.

Meanwhile, Veronica, proves herself a true friend and kind, compassionate human being even after being humiliated.

While this movie brings to light the great pressure our youths face to look a certain way in order to be accepted and sends a reminder that there is more to a person than their physical appearance and Instagram followers, it sends another message of the harmful sort. It sends the message that it's okay to trick someone into falling for you. That you're entitled to someone's love despite your acts of manipulation simply because they have no business caring about your appearance anyway. That it's okay to commit heinous acts against friends because you're entitled forgiveness.

But these things are not okay.

people need to calm down.

[a_lowther · 7/10 · 28 September 2018]

Everyone is acting all offended SJW about this movie in these reviews and don't remember how much people suck in high school. this movie is really accurate and just because the boy likes her in the end doesn't mean it promotes catfishing, the whole movie it's obvious how wrong it is and at the end both Sierra and Jamey talk about how terrible it was to do that. Most teen movies from previous generations are just as problematic, but hey guess what teenagers are pronlematic, nothing wrong with a story that shows how bad it is to lie and bully friends. the main theme of this movie is about not judging a book by its cover and so what it used catfishing as a story telling device? this is the same plot of cinderella story except hillary duff is hot and doesn't have to hide the way she looks because itll put the guy off. it was a perfectly good teen rom com.

sierra burgess is an a**hole

[elvira-rizova · 1/10 · 7 September 2018]

This movie has got me SHOOKETH. Yes it sends the message that it's not always about looks, and it was nice to see the popular girl team up with the outcast. HOWEVER, lord almighty!! The overall message of this movie is RIDICULOUS and WRONG.

Catfishing is not okay, what the main protagonists do is downright evil and messed up... there are little to no repercussions to their actions, and Jamey just seems to accept all of it without much thought. They never went deeper into that, we never see Jamey's reaction, how much that affects him and I don't feel like Sierra evolves as a character at all since her actions are somehow 'okay' and treated like a minor mistake. That is messed up. What the hell does this movie teach young kids?

This kind of behaviour is unacceptable. Ew.

Cute film

[mhpayne78 · 7/10 · 11 September 2018]

I wish all the millennials out there would stop focusing on the whole "catfishing" aspect of this film and appreciate it for what it is - another modern retelling of Cyrano De Bergerac. There have been many, from Roxanne to The Truth About Cats and Dogs, to this. The Sierra character is getting so much backlash, but that is only because the younger generation is so consumed by social media, online dating, texting, etc..... so the "catfish" part is the only aspect that people are focusing on. Her character was insecure. She made a mistake, but it won her the guy in the end. The moral of the story (whether people think the original theme has aged well or not) is brains triumphing over beauty. That is all. I thought it was cute - and I LOVE her song and singing voice

Sometimes good things happen to terrible people

[maxbrt-155-905276 · 1/10 · 20 September 2018]

That is the real message of this movie. Absolutely terrible storyline, they want you to feel for the protagonist but in reality she's a terrible person.. seriously how is this trying to be spun in a positive light?

Not perfect, but it wasn't supposed to be

[holaholacocacolis · 10/10 · 7 September 2018]

It was a really nice movie and fun to watch. The characters are realistic in the sense they are complicated and make mistakes. Do not listen to the complaints, people love to find stuff to be mad about. Be realistic and stop getting offended over everything. It's a teenage movie and it's not supposed to be the next forrest gump. Watch it. It is what it's supposed to be.

Cute movie

[marymcnamara-69052 · 7/10 · 7 September 2018]

Yes- it was a bit cliche- but I honestly can't understand all of the harsh reviews. It was a fun, fluffy movie. It was also super refreshing to just see an " everyday girl" take the lead. Noah Centineo has been popping up a lot lately- he's so likeable! I think this is worth a watch.

Catfishing is WRONG - don't romanticized it

[cmeneses-74957 · 1/10 · 10 September 2018]

Sierra's character is a self absorbed "smarty pants" character with absolutely nothing going on for her. At no point in the movie you root for her to win over her love interest.

Deceiving someone into thinking you are someone else is simply wrong and in no way should be romanticized.

By the way - Sierra is just as shallow as Veronica or anyone else. The only reason she's into the guy is because he SENT a picture of him right off the bat. Would've she reacted differently if he didn't look as a catalog model? I definately think so.

It's a Winner

[Jared_Andrews · 6/10 · 7 September 2018]

In Sierra Burgess is a Loser, debut director Ian Samuels and writer Lindsey Beer concoct a conventional teen story. It's the latest in the line of John Hughes-like rom-coms Netflix has pumped out in recent months, and it's one of the better ones, even though it won't win many points for originality. Sierra Burgess is reminiscent of Sixteen Candles - featuring a new redhead, Shannon Purser (Barb of Stranger Things), in place of Molly Ringwald's role - and centers on a millennial-pandering catfishing plot.

Sierra (Purser) and her best friend, Dan (RJ Cyler, a bubbly comic force), are obsessed with getting into an elite college, though Sierra is out of touch with how that's done in today's world. While Dan embraces the need to make an impact in the digital sphere by getting his vlog on BuzzFeed, Sierra asks in frustration, "Can't you just rely on your straight A's?"

"What is this, the 90s?" Dan scoffs.

Sierra wishes that were true.

In a school where everyone is aggressively 2018, Sierra resists the staples of modern life. She rolls her eyes at the other girls taking mirror selfies in the bathroom. She markets her help as a tutor with a flyer on the school tack board rather than on social media (where someone might actually see it). Most importantly, she wears clothes that are just old enough to be out of style but not old enough to be vintage chic. Since she's smart and clearly self-aware, it's as if she actively crafted her entire persona to not fit in. She sees herself as a rebel. Others see a loser.

When the school's mean popular girl, Veronica (Kristine Froseth), pretends to give a jock, Jamey (Noah Centineo), her number but actually uses Sierra's number that she swiped from the tutoring flyer, a texting flirtation begins. Sierra and Jamey the jock, who turns out to be a total sweetheart (because Centineo is too likable to be anything else), hit it off. But memes and witty repartee only go so far. Turns out even in 2018, people still want to talk on the phone. After that goes well, he wants to meet in person. Sierra realizes that she needs help from the girl Jamey thinks he's falling for.

Sierra convinces Veronica to help - in exchange for aid in Veronica's mission to woo a pseudo-intellectual college jerk. Veronica is her mean self at first, but this is a considerate movie, so the mean girl comes with a backstory that explains her nastiness. After one quick peak behind the curtain, Sierra sympathizes with her. And with a simple gesture of genuine human kindness, something Veronica clearly doesn't receive often, the two form a friendship.

From there, the story follows a fairly predictable trajectory, as conflict arises and each character fails then later has a shot at redemption. The film has its flaws: A scene meant to deliver an emotional gut punch rings false, and a separate supposedly "magical romantic moment" is blissfully unaware that it's completely messed up. Fortunately, the vivacious performers and chipper dialogue provide enough charm to hold everything together.

Like so many rom-coms, Sierra Burgess has fun early on but struggles and rushes when the time comes to wrap up. This one doesn't so much stick the landing as it does narrowly avoid a crash, but in the end, everyone is on the ground safe, satisfied and heart-warmed. Netflix understands that is what viewers crave most, so it can chalk this one up as another success.

Cute and a realistic teenage romcom

[megan6464 · 7/10 · 7 September 2018]

I really liked this- I've been in a massive romcom mood since watching To All the Boys I've Loved Before. I loved that the main character wasn't a girl you see a lot, and I liked that they didn't do the whole "make-over" scene. This showed that your personality is your biggest asset and that's how you find your true friends. A solid romcom with some really cute scenes and good acting, there was nothing inherently bad about this. Plus the mean girl wasn't mean just to be mean, like most movies portray them as.

Veronica deserves wayy better than Sierra

[joleng88 · 1/10 · 14 September 2018]

Sierra is a total asshole... the hell is wrong with this stupid storyline man.

Loved It and Hated It

[nowego · 7/10 · 9 September 2018]

This is one movie I can actually say I agreed with some of the reviews that gave this a 1-4 rating, but while they rated on how they felt about Sienna, I rate on how much I liked the movie.

It starts out like many high school rom-coms, then morphs into some thing else. While it is very cliched and unoriginal, it also has elements that make it different.

Very good acting all round with most of the actors for me being unknowns.

It engaged me enough to watch it all the way through and keep me entertained, but like a lot of the 1-4 rating reviewers I didn't like Sienna much in the end.

Every catfish's fantasy

[rynours-18857 · 1/10 · 8 September 2018]

I had a feeling this movie was going to be bad before viewing it. I saw the little preview on Netflix and thought they had to be kidding, but I was bored and decided to watch it.

So basically this is every girl who catfishes fantasy of what they hope for when they deceive a guy. "Oh, if he falls in love with my personality, he won't care about my body or my face." Yeah, that never works and this movie is sending a bad message to young girls. Now if they had ended this film with Sierra ending up with a guy who is also a loser in the end, it wouldn't be a bad film, but instead she gets the hunky jock she deceived and stalked. Even though, by the end of the film, we see Veronica has way better character than Sierra. A guy who is attracted to someone like Veronica isn't going to be attracted to someone like Sierra, especially when he thinks he's falling for Veronica. The whole reason he falls for Sierra through phone calls and texts is he's putting Veronica's face to all the words.

Don't catfish, it never works out. All you'd be doing is setting yourself up for disappointment, as looks do freakin matter! Even if looks don't matter, honesty and not being a creep does.

Relatable

[shaynafalk · 7/10 · 9 September 2018]

I found this movie relatable, through high school I was the tall, heavy girl while all my friends got to be the ones guys asked about when they walked up to me. As much as I know what she did was wrong, you can't sit there and tell me you didn't have a moment or period where you were a horrible person in high school. We are all struggling with our identity in high school, while all just wanting to be the beautiful accepted ones. I'm happy she got her happy ending. This movie is very cute, and I enjoyed it and gave me a confidence boost. You never know what's gonna happen!!

More like a 0/10

[ngojhoang · 1/10 · 8 September 2018]

Out of all the movies I've seen thus far, this is probably one of the most disappointing movies I've watched. Stalking, cat fishing, sexual abuse, lying, hacking into your friend's social media to embarrass her, a lot self pity and just dumb stuff that makes you grow to really dislike the main character. You would think she'd get a restraining order. But of course after all that, Sierra regains her friendships, gets the guy, and goes to Stanford?! WTF? LOL! I understand there's a positive message in the movie but also I hope people don't wrong idea that it's okay to act in such crazy manners for a crush. In the end, the main character lives up to the title of the movie, "Sierra Burgess Is a Loser".

Old school John Hughes style

[ze-murakami · 10/10 · 10 September 2018]

If u like old school teen movies and miss John Hughes like me, this is defnitly a good choice.

Entertaining but with some disappointing development

[ComedyFan2010 · 7/10 · 3 August 2019]

Reading the reviews makes me shake my head. It shows very well what our society is today that people can't just be entertained without finding something wrong and offensive. This isn't a movie to teach you, the catfish story is an old one and nobody is asked to do it in real life. Trust me, teenagers aren't so dumb that they repeat everything they see on tv. It is just there to add a fun story line with some issues to overcome. Sierra knew from the beginning that she made a mistake and all the time was trying to figure out how to tell the truth but had no guts for it.

That said, the movie had some issues which made me take some points away. First of all they should have shown more connection between Sierra and Jamey. Sending each other funny animal pictures isn't something that makes one soulmates. They did have some conversations but they weren't all too deep.

The biggest mistake though was in her friendship with Veronica. Was there anything that she has done for Veronica? When it comes to her home situation she just said that she was sorry. She heard Spence telling his friend that he is using her but it was somehow forgotten. Sure, she tried to call Veronica and wasn't picked up but they could have talked about it after. And then what she did to Veronica at the end was a total disaster. Not saying the deed itself, people do some bad things in anger. But she never even apologized for it or showed real regret! At the end she sent Veronica her song. I was hoping it would be something about their friendship and something good about veronica, telling her to stand up for herself, that she is not a moron, that she is happy to be her friend etc. Instead it was all about Sierra's own victimhood. And this alone made Veronica help her out to get Jamey. They sure could have done something about it. Make this movie 15 minutes longer and the issue could have been solved in a better way which would make the viewer more satisfied and happy for Sierra.

The casting was great, so was the acting. I really loved Veronica's character. She was actually never a bad person and her good side came out very soon in the movie. I find it amazing that even after he friends told her that she would be a loser for hanging out with Sierra she did not get mean to her. In a more expected teen movie what would happen is that at the party Sierra would be bullied and Veronica would have a weak moment and join the rest. I am glad they didn't do it here. I really wish more would have done for this character, a true apology from somebody she thought was her friend and a better ending than just "giving up on social media".

Still a very fun and entertaining movie. It could have been a 10/10 teen movie if they properly dealt with the issues I listed above.

Good acting, ridiculous storyline, frustrating outcome.

[ldjg134 · 2/10 · 7 September 2018]

I think that actors did a great job portraying characters and wish I could rate this movie higher because of it.

However the entire storyline was ridiculous. It wasn't even the catfishing that I had a problem with. I appreciated the spotlight being shed on a topic that happens more often than we think. I even appreciated the story behind Sierra and why she was doing what she was doing (even though I thought her character was a selfish idiot). What I thought was absolutely stupid and ridiculous was the outcome.

In what world is it okay to pretend to be someone else and trick another person into falling for you? And how was she so easily forgiven for her horrendous actions? What she did to Veronica was horrible and the fact she got what she wanted in the end pissed me off. How was she so easily forgiven? Why were her actions so quickly shrugged off? Why were no consequences even really highlighted for what she had done? It was as if we went through all of that just to be given "Oh so I know you catfished me. That's wrong. But that's okay I forgive you let's go to prom!"

I love myself a good ol' cliche ending now and then, I won't lie. However, this cliche ending was so unwarranted it's not even funny.

Definitely in my pile of "seen it but would never watch again".

Great relaxing movie

[britt-alofs · 7/10 · 7 September 2018]

The storyline was a breeze to sit through and the characters were all very lovable. I'm really loving the acting job of Noah. He's just a great actor and portraits his emotions very believably. Same goes for all the other actors.

I mean the storyline is not the most original but I still loved it. It's def a recommended watch.