How to Date Billy Walsh Review: Sebastian Croft, Charithra Chandran Are Adorable in Forgettable YA Drama

– No Spoilers –

Best friends since birth Archie and Amelia’s friendship is about to be tested when Archie finally picks up the courage to profess his feelings that he has kept hidden forever out in the open. However, when new student Billy Walsh makes a dashing entry into the school and Amelia’s heart, his plans get a bit sidetracked. Will he be able to profess his feelings to his best friend?

When this movie starts, you know what you are getting into. But surprisingly enough, you feel bad for poor Archie, whose feelings for Amelia feel genuine and sincere but he is just unable to get past the friendzone and tell her the truth. And just as every other YA movie goes, Amelia is in love with the cool popular kid with black nail polish and a killer smile. Actually, everyone is in love with him so there’s a ton of competition but Amelia being our protagonist, of course, has something that none of these girls have.

Generic YA movies seldom make us feel happy, warm or giddy. If anything, they are boring and uninteresting but there’s a sincerity in Archie’s love for Amelia that truly does make us feel warm. I think the movie hits the nail on the head with its casting, with Sebastian Croft and Charithra Chandran’s chemistry truly standing out for me. They truly feel like best friends and make you root for his quest more. However, the film would’ve been more enjoyable had the creators kept it simpler.

I say that because the film unnecessarily creates a conflict that feels half-baked and forced and the payoff isn’t that great as well. Considering 17-year-olds are pretty great at ruining things for themselves without external influence, I think showcasing different sides of Amelia would’ve been a better choice – making her make mistakes and then fixing them is a better alternative than what we saw. Either way, YA movies wouldn’t be the ones that we love and hate without something silly happening now, would it?

Surprisingly though, How to Date Billy Walsh delivers a surprisingly warm and thoughtful end without too many frills. Normal high school shenanigans and Archie’s glowing sincerity make for a relatable watch and his monologue (because of course) is also surprisingly heartfelt. You usually don’t find movies that feature a sweet speech that makes sense for the character but Archie gets something that is very heartfelt and Croft, as mentioned previously, is thoroughly sincere in his delivery.

That being said, when the movie ends, you’d be left wondering what the point of Buchanan’s character was because he is there as the eye candy with some depth but is mostly left unexplored, so much so that he feels like an afterthought. I mean, I get it – it’s not about him. But even then, we hardly see anything that would make him even an interesting presence in the film. Plus, I was left a little confused by Amelia’s sudden change of mind; I felt like it needed a little more introspection on her part and felt a bit rushed for no reason.

How to Date Billy Walsh Review: Final Thoughts

Although unmemorable plot-wise, it is Sebastian Croft and Charithra Chandran who make a dent in your heart with their sincere and youthful portrayal of their characters in this YA romance film. It’s cute and great to enjoy with the family but is entirely unimaginative and forgettable. Thankfully, the casting is great, which saves it from being truly horrid.

How to Date Billy Walsh is streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

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