A long movie with an original while still familiar storyline. A story that will make you mad at a character one minute and love them the next.

If that is what you are looking to watch, the latest Netflix original film, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, is just for you. The film came out on Friday, Sept. 7, not only portraying the popular mean girl in a new light, but also bringing many more meanings to teen movies than usually expected.

The story follows Sierra Burgess (Shannon Purser), the nerdy smart unpopular girl who speaks up against Victoria (Kristine Froseth), the popular mean girl. One thing leads to another and when a handsome boy Jamey (Noah Centineo) approaches Victoria she hands him Sierra’s number as payback for embarrassing her in front of her peers. As Sierra and Jamey text, both slowly fall for each other but Sierra keeps facing the same problem, Jamey still thinks he’s talking to Victoria.

However, love is not the only topic of this movie. Sierra Burgess is a Loser encompasses a wider range of themes than any other teen movie I’ve seen. It touches on self-esteem, pressures of high school, body image, friendship and even living up to impossible expectations while also wanting to fulfill your dreams.

I was also happy to see disability portrayed without it being the main focus of the story, as Jamey’s younger brother is deaf. Often, I see disability as either not portrayed in most high school set movies, or being the main focus the story revolves around.

One of my favorite parts of the movie was seeing Victoria as much more than a popular pretty girl who is just mean. Kristine Froseth portrays her as a much rounder character, with a backstory and another side that doesn’t enjoy being the person everyone thinks she is. The change of her growing as a person, not only warmed my heart but also made me realize what so many movies are missing, a dynamic antagonist who can turn into a friend.

However, the many aspects and lessons from this movie, as great as they were, made it also a bit overwhelming and hard to keep up with. While it was great to see the girls’ friendship grow and be challenged, it was also great to see Sierra consider her dream of singing as a career. The switch from love, friendship, self-growth was great and new for a typical teen rom-com, but at times I felt like the writer wanted to get as many ideas across as possible. Yet it does reflect the struggle of being a teenager in some ways, so the variety in focuses is both a blessing and a curse.

For those, like me, who have missed Noah Centineo for these couple of weeks or since the last time you rewatched To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, and for those few who still don’t know who he is, this movie will make you fall in love with him as he portrays Jamey perfectly, the handsome, sweet and too-good-to-be-true boy. Shannon Purser who has made her debuts in Stranger Things and Riverdale also captures Sierra Burgess in her finest, a nice girl who unexpectedly also has other sides, with a touch of a beautiful voice in the movies original song, “Sunflower”.

This movie is great entertainment to say the least, it made me laugh, fall in love with the characters, hate others and reminded me what’s most important: doing what makes you happy.

While it can get overwhelming at times, that is just how life is so if you want to reflect on life without focusing on yours, watch this movie, it brings a couple of things into perspective.