How to Date Billy Walsh

I really wanted to like this. The movie has a great cast and, to give them their due, the weakness isn't in the cast performance here, they do a great job with the dire material they have to work with.

There's nothing new or original about the story. It's a poor British attempt to replicate an American high school movie trope that has been told a thousand times. I'm unsure how you can remake a movie that has been made so many times before yet get it so wrong.

I get that the design of the film is supposed to be slightly off the wall, but it borders on cartoonesque. If it not for the occasional swear word or discussion of sex toys, this could be an episode of any Nickelodeon or Disney show.

The characters, writing and story is all paper thin.

I'm really unsure who the audience is for this, it's too adult in content for the tween audience, it's too immature for older young adults, it doesn't have the sarcasm or self-awareness to please an older audience.

How to Date Billy Walsh is a charmless and irritating movie. It is derivative of similar Young Adult rom coms but is a total misfire.

Amelia (Charithra Chandran) and Archie (Sebastian Croft) are childhood best friends. Now both 17 years old, Amelia has never been kissed. While Archie is hopelessly in love with Amelia but cannot confess his true feelings to her.

When cool American biker dude Billy Walsh turns up as a new transfer student. Amelia tells Archie that she has fallen for Billy Walsh. Much to his consternation.

Amelia has competition for Billy's affections. Like all the the glamorous mean girls at school.

Archie pretends to be an advice app called the Love Doctor, to give Amelia advice. Hoping that would keep them apart. Only his advice ends up bringing Amelia and Billy together.

Inept and confusing writing. No chemistry between the leads. This is another rubbish rom com from streaming sites.

" How to Date Billy Walsh " is a fun movie. It involves witty dialogue, and the classic trope of a love triangle between three teenagers.

However, it was... hard to watch to say the least.

The main character, Archie, is crude and hard to sympathize with. It's hard to believe that he actually cares for Millie with all of the horrible things he does throughout the movie. The only interesting characterization he has is when he speaks to the audience, and that gets old fast.

The titular Billy Walsh is supposed to be an American bad boy that the English girls swoon over. While his accent is lovely, his character is bland and flat. He has no other personality traits, or motives, behind any of his options. His use in the story is just to be a "foil" to Archie, and that is made clear.

Millie, the girl next door, and Archie's best friend, is the worst characterized out of all of them. Her purpose is to just be in love with whoever it calls for in the movie. She's bland, like a manic pixie dream girl but watered down. While she has a motivation, her mother, it fails to bring any substance to her character.

The movie's plot was boring and overdone, but no idea is original. I could excuse the overdone plot for interesting characters, motives, or really anything of interest. However, we're only met with the same predictable plot twists and endings.

This is a fun movie if you put the cringey moments and poor characterization aside. While I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, it's a nice movie if you've already watched all of Netflix's catalogue.

Directed by Alex Pillai, "How to Date Billy Walsh" attempts to bring a fresh twist to the high school romantic drama genre but ultimately falls short of making a lasting impression. The film follows the story of a young nerd who finds himself in a love triangle with his childhood best friend and a charismatic bad boy.

While the inclusion of an interracial love angle adds a unique element to the narrative, the film struggles to offer anything truly original. Instead, it relies on tired clichés and predictable plot twists that fail to engage the audience. Despite a few fleeting moments that may entertain on platforms like Instagram Reels or YouTube Shorts, the movie as a whole lacks substance.

The cast, including Sebastian Croft, Charithra Chandran, Tanner Buchanan, and Kunal Nayyar, does little to elevate the material. Their performances feel uninspired, with limited opportunity to showcase their talents in a meaningful way.

Overall, "How to Date Billy Walsh" is a forgettable addition to the rom-com genre. Despite its attempts to inject new life into familiar tropes, the film ultimately falls flat, leaving viewers longing for something more substantial and memorable.

Honestly, I am just incredibly disappointed in this movie. I not only love the main actors, but the premise and trailers I had watched made It look interesting and good.

But please, believe me when I say: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE.

It might actually be the worst movies I have ever watched. I don't ever review movies, especially bad ones, but I felt an obligation to warn others to stay away from this one. Not only were the characters underdeveloped and shallow, but the main (what I believe to be) protagonist of the film actively made me hate it. I love Sebastian Croft, but never have ever I believed that a character should receive a horrible ending more than Archie in this movie. Also, the direction and dialogue in this film may be some of the worst I've seen (basically all creative direction was bad: costumes, cinematography, audio...) making it even worse than just the characters and morals. I don't even think I can summarize how terrible this movie is so I am just going to leave it at: Do not watch. Not only a waste of time, but 101 minutes of my life I will never get back (and neither will you).