The Atlantic

What <em>Sierra Burgess </em>Gets Wrong About Consent

The Netflix rom-com, starring Shannon Purser (<em>Stranger Things</em>) and Noah Centineo (<em>To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before),</em> disappointingly fails to indict the protagonist’s deceptive behavior.
Source: Aaron Epstein / Netflix

It was hard not to want Sierra Burgess Is a Loser to win.

The teen rom-com, which began streaming on Netflix last Friday, seems strategically constructed for maximum likability. Written by Lindsey Beer and directed by Ian Samuels, the film stars Shannon Purser, who won a cult following as ’ Barb Holland, as the titular character. Sierra is shy, unassuming, and outrageously smart—the perfect template for the kind of rom-com heroine it’s easiest to root for. Noah Centineo, who claimed a million hearts with his performance as the sensitive heartthrob in , plays opposite Purser. As the quarterback Jamey, Centineo once again

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