In case your rom-com needs have yet to be sated by Netflix their latest Original, Sierra Burgess Is A Loser, may do the trick with Stranger Things star Shannon Purser and the dreamy Peter Kavinsky Noah Centineo from To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before.
The new Netflix Original is a modern rom-com retelling of the Cyrano de Bergerac story set in high school. The story centers on Sierra, an intelligent teen who does not fall into the shallow definition of high school pretty. However, after a case of mistaken identity that results in unexpected romance, she teams with the popular girl in order to win her crush.
Director Ian Samuels found himself impressed by the funny character-driven story, which is loosely inspired by Cyrano de Bergerac. “The brilliant thing is that the conceit of the play, which is essentially a version of catfishing, suddenly translates effortlessly in 2018, because we’re all communicating through letters again (now texting). Lindsey kept the story moving and turning. She also uses familiar stereotypes to set up expected conventional character dynamics (that also satisfy genre tropes) and then tears them all down. It felt inevitable and inspired, even down to the point of view of an unconventional lead for a teen movie.”
According to Samuels, the biggest challenge was time. Originally written as a big studio teen rom-com, they ended up with only twenty days to film, which didn’t allow for pickups or reshoots. “In the end, because of time, I prioritised working with the actors, and focusing on performance to tell story, over working out a camera move. Side plots fell away. The benefit is that we were able to make something that feels more intimate, a little more raw and simple than the traditional commercial romantic comedy.”
Lindsey Beer wrote the screenplay, and she wanted to explore “acceptance, acknowledging that nobody is perfect, not even the Perfect Girl. We are all such vulnerable creatures, underneath it all.”
If you’re worried Sierra is going to be the stereotypical girl in a rom-com, Shannon Purser can assure you that she isn’t.
“I love Sierra because she isn’t a trope. She’s not the traditional love-obsessed nerd or the angry, angsty outcast. She’s not desperate for male attention, she just falls head over heels in love for the first time and has to figure out how to love herself in the process.”
The movie stars Shannon Purser (Stranger Things), Kristine Froseth (Junior), RJ Cyler (Power Rangers 2017), Noah Centineo (To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before), Chrissy Metz (This Is Us), and Lea Thompson (Switched At Birth).
Sierra Burgess Is A Loser hits Netflix internationally on September 7th.
