At this point, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve had to start a review by suggesting the streaming business has lowered our standards. The expectation, now, is cheap-looking, derivative and disposable – and the aim is purely consumable. At best, these B-tier streaming movies are fun, kicky, or knowingly smooth-brain. At worst, they’re offensive to your time.
How to Date Billy Walsh, a new teen movie from Prime Video, falls on the latter end of that spectrum. The England-set romcom from veteran TV director Alex Pillai, whose credits include Riverdale, Bridgerton and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, commits the cardinal sin in this content glut: it is boring, and its glaring flaws – from tone to shot choice to premise – only serve to underscore its failings, and not in a fun, Madame Web way. Even with diminished expectations, it grates.
