John Hughes would’ve been proud of this high school take on Cyrano de Bergerac and I loved it because Sierra killed off a couple common tropes in its storytelling. I’m also stoked to see Stranger Things‘ breakout actress Shannon Purser getting a starring vehicle, the lady exudes charisma. I think Shannon has a bright future.
The movie focuses on Sierra, the daughter of a successful author (dad) and a motivational speaker (mom). She has brains (a lock for Stanford despite being a legacy), talent (band, sings, etc.) and personality (people generally like her). Sierra is definitely the product of a nurturing home because she didn’t inherit her mother’s Hollywood-pretty looks and it doesn’t phase her daily life. The queen bee of the mean girls, Veronica, reminds Sierra of this via taunts and shit talk at school.
Our two “enemies” eventually become involved in a Cyrano-based scheme thanks to Veronica’s cruelty when she gives Sierra’s phone number to Jamey, a cute boy from another high school with loser friends. Jamey sends a text message expecting Veronica but gets Sierra. The two hit it off as they find each other witty, funny, intelligent, so on. Sierra isn’t stupid though, she knows it was Veronica’s doing. Luckily, Veronica has just been dumped by a college student due to her lack of smarts. They make a deal. Sierra will teach Veronica the essentials of what a college freshman tends to learn in exchange for Veronica being Sierra’s “face” to Jamey until Sierra has the courage to meet him. Maybe they’ll both get what they want.
How does it go? You need to watch this to find out yet I have a feeling you probably know. Even John Hughes still gave people what they wanted in the end.
The details are what I liked…
- Sierra is a real person in appearance. They don’t make her frumpy a la Anne Hathaway with mussy hair and glasses then suddenly she’s a model underneath it all with a mere makeover! Shannon is attractive in her own, unique way.
- Veronica may be the queen of the high school but when you she her home, she’s really White Trash Royalty. Her mother is a morbidly obese stage-mom trying to get all her children into beauty pageants to secure their futures.
- Jamey may be a football star yet he isn’t a bully, quite the opposite due to his deaf brother and genuinely loyal to his “loser” friends.
- Sierra’s best friend Dan isn’t a cliché. He isn’t secretly in love with her nor gay. He is just her wise-ass buddy and has no trouble getting his own date for Homecoming.
- The music is another factor John Hughes would’ve applauded. Unlike most teen movies, the soundtrack isn’t a mix of genres, heavy in shitty (c)Rap, Flavor-of-the-Month or recycled FM radio hits. It’s primarily the Synth-Pop that a person like Sierra would like, similar to the loner mix Pretty in Pink was.
It’s definitely an age-appropriate movie for anyone over 13. There might be a little explaining needed for the lower end of the teen segment but Netflix made a hit which I plan to add to my Coming-of-Age library which includes She’s All That, Weird Science, Eighth Grade and Racing with the Moon.