Seemingly, every couple of years, a social media star turns to their next big break: a shot at acting. They believe they are destined to star in the next big blockbuster, but each time, they fall short.
Recently, Noah Beck, a 23-year-old TikTok star and social media influencer we have both come to love, took a stab at the big screen. In the past year, Beck has turned to high fashion modeling and moved far beyond his Hype House days (the results weren’t great, in our view). However, this movie seems like a stone’s throw away from his earlier TikTok persona.
“Sidelined: The QB and Me,” now streaming on Tubi, is a buzzing romance between a cheerleader and the star quarterback of a high school team. It originated in a Wattpad story, a website dedicated to the interesting fictitious stories anybody can publish. In fact, one of our very own Falcons (their name isn’t mentioned for their own sanctity) has a Harry Potter-based fanfiction on the website.
One scene from the film went viral on social media, involving the main characters Drayton (played by Beck) and Dallas (played by Siena Agudong) having a romantic moment on the football field. Drayton, the school’s quarterback, throws the ball to cheerleader Dallas and shouts, “Nice catch, cheer!” when she effortlessly catches the ball. Throwing the ball back to him, she replies, “Not my name, quarterback!”
Despite most on social media calling the scene cringey, all the attention still brought more eyes to “Sidelined.” We watched it because of all the content on social media about it, and while all signs pointed to this movie being terrible, with TikTok stars in lead roles and not-so-great source material, the film is actually surprisingly great.
The plot, which explores Dallas gaining confidence in her dancing through Drayton’s support, and Drayton breaking away from the expectations of his father, is surprisingly gripping. Throughout the 1 hour and 39 minute runtime, as Dallas and Drayton fall in love with their hobbies, they fall in love with each other in the process.
At times, of course, the movie is so silly that it is laughable, but that only makes the experience of watching it with a friend more enjoyable. Beck’s acting, especially in comedic scenes where he is in conversation with his costars, isn’t completely horrible, and even when his acting isn’t great, the effect is still funny.
With a sequel already confirmed, the success of the franchise is only growing. And honestly, we’re so excited to see the next movie. Beck proves a few TikTok stars might just have a shot at crossing over successfully to movies and TV and shouldn’t be sidelined to just being an influencer.
