‘How to Lose a Popularity Contest’ is winning the mediocrity rom-com contest.

By Amelia Morris

Tubi original “How to Lose a Popularity Contest” is a typical rom-com targeted to teens and pre-teens. The movie follows high school juniors Ellie and Nate as they attempt to win the student council presidential election. In the end, the movie was every bit of average.

Ellie Pearse (Sara Waisglass) is the typical teen lead in any rom-com. She’s nerdy, driven and striving to be accepted into an Ivy League school. Her resume might be lengthy but when the Ivy League is looking for leadership opportunities, Ellie has none.

Keeping with her stereotypical character, Ellie dislikes the popular crowd in her school. When student council elections approach, she thinks they are just a popularity contest. No one who deserves it actually wins. 

When Ellie’s boyfriend, Rowan Cross tells her he would like to run for president, she immediately shuts him down. Rowan, after all, is nerdy like her. In Ellie’s mind, it would be impossible for him to win this popularity contest. Because of this, Rowan breaks up with Ellie.

To get back at him, Ellie signs up the most popular kid in school to run against Rowan: Nate Reed. Together, Nate and Ellie build a campaign. As they formulate a strategic way to win votes, sparks fly between the pair. 

However, there was not much chemistry between the two actors. They looked like a cute couple but I never found myself on the edge of my seat, waiting for their romance to brew. There also was not much chemistry or romance in the movie itself. The movie carries a TV-14 rating which is mostly due to language and not so much romance.

Overall, the movie was okay. It did not introduce anything new and followed typical rom-com tropes. This movie took an over-achieving girl and a jock guy to the pinnacle of mediocrity.

Ellie’s character was not likeable – she acted like she was better than everyone else, which is eventually addressed in the film. Yet as a viewer the majority of the film was spent disliking Ellie, ultimately hindering the film.

Chase Hudson’s portrayal of Nate was not great. His lines seemed forced and cringy throughout the movie. Hudson is known for being a TikTok influencer, not an actor. This movie is living proof of why influencers should not be cast in roles like this. 

While Hudson was forced into a typical rom-com script, his deliveries could have been better. A bad performance for a lead actor can break a movie. In this case, it almost did.

Luckily, Sara Waisglass as Ellie was great in her role. She was emotional, engaging and embodied the story. She single-handedly carried this movie with her acting skills. Without her, I do not think I would have made it through the movie.

Rom-coms are cheesy by nature but “How to Lose a Popularity Contest” knocks the ball out of the park. The lines, the tropes and the scenes are meshed together to create one cheesy glob.

But, it was not all bad. The story was still cute and fun even though it was nothing new. The storyline was consistent and never went off the rails. Although predictable, the movie was entertaining. 

The pacing of the story worked well for this film. It was never too slow and got right to the point. I enjoyed how Ellie had an emotional side to her character and that she had a great relationship with her dad.

I enjoyed the movie but it was not my favorite. I would probably not give it a rewatch. There are certainly better rom-coms out there that I would rather spend my time on. I cannot strongly recommend this movie but if you’re looking for something lighthearted to watch in the background, “How to Lose a Popularity Contest” is your movie.

‘How to Lose a Popularity Contest’ is currently streaming on Tubi.

Amelia Morris is a freshman journalism major and writer for Cedars A&E. She loves reading, writing and being in nature with her dogs.

Images courtesy of Tubi.