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Netflix’s efforts to revive the rom-com reach another milestone with Sierra Burgess is a Loser: mediocrity. Sierra Burgess is not unlike previous hits of this so-called rom-com renaissance. It combines the semi-nostalgic teen-centric stylings and hot-right-now male lead of To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before with the vaguely creepy made-for-TV manipulation of Set It Up, a workplace rom-com about two bitchy, busy bosses whose relationship is almost entirely constructed by their overworked assistants.

Jamey (Noah Centineo) is thrilled when Veronica (Kristine Froseth) gives him her number at a diner. After all, she’s a beautiful cheerleader, while he’s a tall, handsome quarterback whose only flaw is that he inexplicably hangs out with people he likes, regardless of their popularity. However, Veronica – hoping to further humiliate one of her favourite victims – has actually given him the number of nerdy, fiery-haired, plus-size high schooler Sierra Burgess (Shannon Purser, better known as Barb from Stranger Things). Sierra knows that she should just admit there’s been a mistake when Jamey texts her thinking she’s Veronica, but her quiet loneliness leaves her unwilling to give up on the unexpected bond that grows between them.

In order to convincingly maintain the fiction, Sierra enlists Veronica’s help. Her best friend Dan (RJ Cyler, also seen in teen adaptation Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) thinks the plan is ludicrous. Veronica wants to look smarter for her college boyfriend; straight-A Sierra can tutor her. Sierra wants to keep in touch with Jamey, fearing that he could never like her for who she really is; Veronica can supply her with selfies, a video-chat stand-in and, unexpectedly, a strange kind of friendship.

Sierra Burgess has its moments of charm. It finds suspense and tenderness in online friendships and real-time texting. When Jamey hides his face in his hands with embarrassment, or Sierra chews her lip by the bay window, the film captures that peculiar sensation of waiting for your crush to reply, deliberating over what to say next, and wondering if you’ve pitched your textual voice just right. A poetry class turns out both a defiant consideration of race and identity and the film’s signature song. It’s terrific to see a movie with a heroine who looks more like an ordinary teenage girl than Hollywood usually allows.

Unfortunately, the film is lumbered with insubstantial character development, flimsy plot ‘twists’, and clumsy ‘comedy’ choices. John Green levels of pretentiousness see literary quotes thrown about like footballs, while supporting character relationships are left on the sidelines. It’s billed as a romantic comedy, but undermined by the creepiness of its catfishing, it really only delivers half measures of each.

The young cast put in reasonable performances – Centineo in particular probably won’t miss a stride on his way to heartthrob status – but you can’t help feeling that Sierra Burgess is a Loser could have been much better than this.