It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post. Honestly with three kids I have absolutely no motivation so I figured to just start writing and hopefully just get back into the swing of things!
Unfortunately, I too have fallen prey to the short vertical dramas. I have yet to bite the bullet on an actual subscription because of financial constraints, but I did want to share my thoughts on one that I watched not too long ago which is His Nerd.
His Nerd is currently available on the CandyJar platform.
Actors
His Nerd stars Amanda Troya as Ava Darling and Joseph Purcell as Hunter Black. I liked both of them in this drama and thought that they had good chemistry on screen!
Ally Ledford as Jessica (the bully), Evan Gambardella as Declan (the other bully), and Paige Frappier as Lily (the best friend) weren’t bad but they all looked way too old to be in high school. The costumes also didn’t help here. The chokers and bandanas on Jessica and Declan somehow made them look older than they are. The space buns and light up shoes on Lily were also not great and almost like an adult cosplaying a teen. Hunter’s outfits were nice though!
Plot
For the most part, His Nerd follows the generic plot of good/smart girl falling for the althlete/bad boy in the school. It also has the fake dating trope too where Ava has to help Hunter get his grades up and he offers her protection from her bullies.
Positives
I did love the drug dealer aspect of the plot and thought that was slightly unpredictable. It helped to make the movie a little bit more interesting than if it were to have just followed two high schoolers. I also think the scene with Declan and Hunter shaking down a student for money had great/natural banter.
I also liked that they added a little bit more detail about Ava’s inventions and actually showed her using what she created. Sometimes with verticals they have science fairs or gaming competitions but it’s usually to just drive the plot forward and they’re never actually doing anything related to it.
Criticisms
I do think that sometimes Joseph’s characters can come off as too much too fast. Like all of a sudden there is a lot of touching and lack of personal space for characters that supposedly just met. Also the vocal fry can be a litle bit much at times.
I have a thing about the bullies in these dramas in general because they’re always greatly exaggerated to the point where it isn’t believable. There seems to be little to no consequence for actions that are crossing the line into criminal assault.
There was also some inconsistent writing that got me more mad than it should have. During the drug search for Declan’s locker, Declan mentions that his parents donated money to the school. But if Declan’s parents donated money to the school why is he dealing drugs? Surely he wouldn’t feel a need to do that if he were loaded? Also Jessica was questioning Drew’s decision to overdose Ava but then immediately after was cool shooting her? It just seemed off.
Overall Ranking
This one wasn’t as bad as some of the other dramas that I’ve watched (looking at you Almost Lover) but it certainly isn’t breaking my top 10. It is entertaining enough to give it a watch. Overall, 3 out of 5.
Where Can I Watch Vertical Dramas?
Honestly I’ve been able to find most of the dramas I want to watch through Dailymotion, Youtube, or Reddit. If I can’t find it through any of those avenues, I just don’t watch it? I know that sounds a little harsh but if we’re being real it isn’t like the plot for these films change dramatically so I never feel like I’m missing out.
Conclusion
I hope you enjoyed my His Nerd review and if you decide to give it a watch let me know what you think!
