With his recent acting debut in the Wattpad novel turned Tubi movie, “Sidelined: The QB and Me,” Noah Beck has been making waves within the industry, so to speak. You might know him as Dixie D’Amelio’s boyfriend, the guy who got clowned on Tiktok for having an unproportionately thick neck, or maybe you don’t know him at all. In fact, everything I’ve just said might mean absolutely nothing to you, which is probably the case for the vast majority of people. Having come out fairly recently, I feel it is my solemn duty as an avid watcher of bad, cookie cutter fluff, to provide a cohesive, unwarranted review on renowned Tiktoker Noah Beck’s movie.
The story begins with Dallas Bryan (played by Sienna Agudong) transferring to a new school for her senior year where her older brother and legal guardian, Nathan, is the football coach. Immediately, Dallas finds herself caught in the crosshairs of quarterback Drayton Lahey’s (played by Noah Beck) smirking gaze, but she shuts him down with some very Wattpad-esque comebacks. Their first meeting is in an English class, where Dallas gets called on to summarize Romeo and Juliet after yanking out an earbud—only for Drayton to pick it up off the floor and pop it into his ear. Gross. Naturally, Dallas isn’t impressed. She criticizes the play, calling the couple’s tragic demise “a meaningless hookup at a party.” Drayton, ever the flirt, counters, saying that they were “just trying to have a little fun.” The movie has a very classic ‘opposites attract’ setup.
I will say, one of the more refreshing parts of the film is its lack of stereotypical high school antagonists. There are no mean girls or mean jocks sabotaging Dallas’ CalArts dreams. The drama comes from more internal conflicts: Dallas dealing with her feelings for Drayton coupled with her dreams to attend CalArts and Drayton’s struggle to step out of his father’s shadow.
That being said, the movie doesn’t shy away from high school clichés entirely. It includes sneaking off to parties and beer pong at said parties. “Hey–if I win this round of beer pong, I get to take you out on a date” esque stuff. Really though, scenes like that are just there to remind us that this movie is based on a Wattpad fanfiction.
As for Beck, his acting is fine. He’s charming in the way you’d expect from a Tiktok star whose career is dependent on such charisma. His rendition of Drayton consists of a lot of time flashing his abs or delivering soft hearted lines like, “I want to be more than what people expect of me.” Does it feel like he’s stretching his acting chops? No, but he delivers just enough sincerity to carry the role of the lead in a Tubi movie.
Siena Agudong, on the other hand, has had her fair share of acting gigs, but her performance here feels rather hit or miss. Still, there’s a certain charm to her that keeps things watchable. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s perfectly serviceable.
Personally, I think this movie’s fatal flaw is its predictability. From the moment Dallas and Drayton meet, you can chart every plot point like a playbook: the inevitable misunderstanding, the heartfelt apology, the grand romantic gesture.
Ultimately, “Sidelined: The QB and Me” won’t blow anyone away, but for what it is, it’s somewhat enjoyable. For a Tubi movie based on a Wattpad story, it’s surprisingly watchable, and honestly, that’s more than I expected. If you’re in the mood for lighthearted fluff, go ahead and give it a chance. Just don’t expect to remember it the next day.
