“Sierra Burgess is a Loser” is a Must See Cross Between Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink
*Spoiler Alert!
Since seeing the trailer on Netflix a week ago, I had this tug to watch “Sierra Burgess is a Loser.”
I was scared I would be disappointed, or that it would just be another version of the ugliness that are high school mean girls.
But tonight, when my son said, “Let’s watch this” I thought, why not.
I could not have been more surprised at how this movie sucked me in.
I felt like a teenager watching a John Hughes movie for the first time, except this one had text messages, facetime and Instagram.
What feels like it might be a heartbreaking tale of an average, but talented, looking girl, quickly has you realize that she is no one’s pushover.
The movie is witty, clever and deep. And even romantic.
I kept looking over to my 13yo son expecting him to be bored, because frankly, with all the texting it can appear to be slow. But when he ran to grab a glass of water he yelled “pause it!”
For those of you who have seen Pretty in Pink a million times, the similarities won’t be lost on you. You’ve got the super geeky girl, with the quirky male best friend. The mean crowd, the humiliation scenes and the dance.
There’s also the too good to be true boyfriend. But of course this boyfriend is hidden behind text messages.
And the end…spoilers…the movie is redeemed with what is our all time favorite scene from Sixteen Candles but reimagined just enough.
This is what I have to say.
Sierra Burgess is kick ass. She is not afraid of the mean girls, and she doesn’t buy into their B.S. She finds a way to work with the head of the mean girls so that they can each get what they want.
Her ability to stick up for herself is something all kids need to see.
The movie is so valuable because you see that things are not always what they seem. We all know that every person has a back story, and in this movie those back stories are honest and raw. Sierra brings out the “real girl” behind the “mean girl” (Veronica) and Veronica sees the Sierra that no one else sees.
However there is a moment when she falls prey to the same behavior as the mean girls, believing her new relationships are too good to be true. That moment hits you so hard that it physically hurts.
And yet you completely get why she did it.
The most important thing about that moment, is it truly makes you feel the damage that cyber-bullying can do. You feel the pain and the confusion, and the desperation of not being able to take back something you have already put out into the world.
That moment is so valuable that I would recommend watching it if only to see that scene.
Sierra Burgess is a Loser is destined to become a movie classic. I would watch it again and again to feel all the feelings that come along with watching the rollercoaster ride that is high school, and seeing the good in the unexpected.
This movie is perfect for a mature 11/12 or 13 years and up.
I would highly recommend you watching with your kids.
Whether or not they want to start a conversation about the movie when it’s over won’t matter, if they watched it, you can be sure they “got it.”
