Boot Camp

Was in the mood for something light yesterday so i decided to watch this one out of my backlog. Its a very "by the book" cute little movie with all the clichés you would expect.

The main protagonist is a bit curvy, but not "unnatractive" at all, yet she seem to pursue guys that are of top model looks. Someone said in another review that it tries to land the message that self-love and acceptance is important, yet the love interest for her in this movie is litterally sculpted like a greek god. There is a bit of a paradox in said message to me.

But other than that, it follow the formula of any teen romcom.

The boot camp aspect does not take a center stage at all. If for instance you expect your protagonist to start awful and eventually overcome and win some kind of competition, its not it at all. Its really mostly about the relationship between the characters including the protagonist, her love interest, but also a few side characters. There is a lot of extras wich litterally have no lines in both campers and trainers.

Emmanuelle Chriqui has a small role in this, she is in just enough to not be considered a cameo but her screen time is very limited. Other than that all the other actors were unknown to me. I would say Rachel Boudwin is charismatic and charming as the lead, while Drew Ray Tanner who plays Axel, her love interest, is a lot more low key and stoic. One of the stand out for me was Anisha Cheema as Martina wich i found pretty cute and charming as well.

Overall i liked the movie for what it was. It didn't reinvent anything, but it did everything well enough. If you like the genre, you should like it too.

This is one of the best Wattpad films I have ever seen! It has the right amount of cringey moments, as you could expect from a Wattpad film. However, this film does not have corny acting, the acting is very real and I don't see a weak link in the cast. Drew Ray Tanner is always great. Rachel Boyd was also amazing of course. However, Rachel Boudwin stands out the most as the leading protagonist and needs to be recognized after this amazing performance she gave. She acts with such raw emotion and it got me in my feels many times. Hopefully big studios want her in their box office hits soon because she's a force to be reckoned with.

This is a modern classic, but not in a good way, but in terms of clichés.

For example, I like how in such films, which seem to advocate self-love, the search for self-confidence instead of chasing after improving appearance and rejection of beauty stereotypes, the heroine's love interest is always a tall handsome guy with great abs. Apparently the rule "you're beautiful no matter how you look" works selectively, eh?

And of course, the moment with taking off the t-shirt is included, and remember, this is certainly not objectification, because he is a guy!

This is the end of the review, I'll just add some symbols.

~If you like~ -Summer romance -Fresh out of HS -Camp vibes -Relatable main character -Reality incorporating notes of fantasy -Enemies to friends -Enemies to lovers -Trope-y romance -Embracing oneself

Then this film is for you!

I almost skipped over this one because of the 5.6 star rating. Then I read some of the reviews and realized there were actually a lot of 10 star reviews! I don't think this film is worthy of 10 stars (not much is in my book). Yet, I think this movie is actually well done and it accomplishes what it sets out to do.

The leads have really good chemistry and I thought the acting was actually very good. I haven't seen almost anyone from this cast before but I thought they all did a fantastic job. It didn't feel corney like it had the potential of being. Still better than most Hallmark films and many YA romance I've seen. This is a fun watch and if you like the above- give it a view!

TL;DR: Better than expected, good acting and chemistry from leads, a bit trope-y but enjoyable.

Rachel Boudwin and Drew Ray Tanner's chemistry was off the charts! I was also impressed by the acting in this film. Sometimes novel adaptations can have cringey moments, but I found myself immersed while watching this film. There weren't any moments where I felt like the dialogue didn't fit the context or was delivered awkwardly. Most importantly, I think the message of this film regarding body positivity and loving oneself is really meaningful. Rachel Boudwin accurately conveyed how people act out during moments of vulnerability/insecurity, and she did it so well. Her delivery was touching, and I think she's a very charming actress. I look forward to her future works!