Quentin Tarantino Couldn’t Write Noah Beck’s Wattpad Tubi Movie
But a 14-year-old with unrestricted internet access could probably write Pulp Fiction
Growing up, I despised riding the bus home from school. It was an incredibly dull, bumpy ride with nothing to do but stare out the window. That is until I downloaded a certain orange app on my iPod Touch—Wattpad. Suddenly, an entire world opened up: girls (y/n) with messy buns and a single swipe of mascara on their "round blue orbs" were adopted by One Direction and mafia leaders fell for shy bookworms. From that moment on, the daily bus ride became a sacred escape. I immersed myself in fanfictions longer than the Bible and far too mature for my prepubescent tween brain. Wattpad is an integral part of my fangirl origin story. And while my days of binge-reading fanfiction on the app are, sadly, behind me, there’s a new form of Wattpad magic making its way into my life: Wattpad movie adaptations. The most recent? A Tubi film starring thirst-trapping, lip-syncing TikTok sensation Noah Beck.
Noah Beck’s Tubi movie, Sidelined: The QB and Me, based on the Wattpad novel The QB Bad Boy and Me, set the internet ablaze after its release, luring haters out of their slumbers to hurl negativity into the TikTok abyss where all good things go to die. “Critics” called out the film’s less-than-desirable script and underwhelming performances. I have to admit, when I first saw these takes, I was aghast. Have we collectively forgotten how pivotal Wattpad was in shaping modern fandom culture?
Wattpad is a cornerstone of internet history. It democratized storytelling and strengthened fandom foundations. It allowed anyone to publish stories, build an audience, and receive instant feedback—opportunities previously gatekept by the publishing industry. It wasn’t just a breeding ground for stories; it deepened connections to existing media, transforming fleeting interests into full-blown obsessions. It fortified fandoms, offering supplemental content no band, celebrity, or media franchise could provide on its own. Teen imaginations were able to run rampant, creating entire worlds featuring their favorites and fostering the parasocial relationships to end all parasocial relationships. As essentially a required stepping stone for the chronically online, Wattpad is where so many fangirls were shaped into the incurably obsessed women we’ve become. For better or worse, without Wattpad, fandoms wouldn’t be the powerhouses they are today.
Mock the classics—After, The Bad Boy Stole My Bra, The Cell Phone Swap—all you want, but they were groundbreaking in their heyday. So many beloved franchises originated on Wattpad. Twilight started as fanfiction. BookTok darling The Love Hypothesis was originally a Star Wars fic. Even The Mortal Instruments began as Draco Malfoy fanfiction. Sure, the platform has plenty of eye-rolling stories that even the most confident fangirls would hide as their guilty pleasure. However, dismissing the entire platform ignores the legendary media that owe their existence to it.
Am I saying Noah Beck’s Tubi movie deserves an Oscar? No. Did I even enjoy it? Honestly, it wasn’t my favorite. But I am saying Wattpad deserves better than to be synonymous with flops. As a former film minor (okay, it was at the University of Missouri, but it still counts for something) and ex-Wattpad connoisseur, I consider myself uniquely qualified to defend the Wattpad-story-to-movie pipeline.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
We need to see Wattpad and its movie adaptations as rough drafts, investing in the potential they hold. You never know what might become an ironic cult classic or launch a breakout star. Think of them as first drafts of future masterpieces in the making. Have y’all heard Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton rough drafts on SoundCloud? That doesn’t sound like a Tony award-winning musical; it sounds like the Wonderland system singing karaoke. Similarly, Wattpad movies are raw, unpolished, and brimming with possibility.
Take The Kissing Booth, initially written on Wattpad by a teenager. With over 19 million reads on Wattpad, it earned a publishing deal and became a Netflix hit. You might be inclined to stop here, taking the movie as its final form, but it’s still only at the beginning of its journey. Jacob Elordi, the main character in The Kissing Booth, went on to star in Euphoria, Priscilla, and Saltburn and is now poised to become our generation's Leonardo DiCaprio. I would go as far as to suggest that Wattpad deserves credit for all these roles because it acted as a catalyst for the rest of his career. Of course, not every Wattpad movie will produce an Elordi-level ingenue. Still, I watch them through the lens of a talent agent, plucking out these nobodies or social media stars soft-launching their acting careers to predict the emerging talent who will grace the silver screen for years.
Tiktok failed to load.Enable 3rd party cookies or use another browser
The biggest critique of Wattpad movies is they’re simply “low quality.” But Netflix churns out its fair share of trash TV (Ginny & Georgia, Never Have I Ever, etc.), and we devour it guilt-free. Everyone accepts those shows for what they are—mindless, entertaining series that scratch an itch that highbrow TV just can’t. Suddenly, we can’t make that distinction when the Wattpad label is attached. Let Wattpad be Wattpad! Not every story needs to be an artsy A24 coming-of-age film (although now I’m obsessed with the idea of an A24-Wattpad crossover). We need silly movies. Life is about balance!
There’s also something so charming about the teenage perspectives on love that Wattpad captures. 14-year-olds literally write these stories, so they’re raw, earnest, and littered with unapologetic clichés. Wattpad captures that nostalgia, memorializing our naïveté in the most endearing way. It also uniquely empowered young writers, turning their seemingly unimportant fanfictions into tangible success stories. The arc of typing a random little fanfiction or love story on your iPod Touch, only to see it turn into a full-on movie years later, is so heartwarming.
So, while Noah Beck’s Wattpad Tubi movie wasn’t groundbreaking, I’m thrilled it exists. I hope we see more Wattpad adaptations on every streaming platform. Embrace the campiness, the low budgets, and the awkward acting. They’re fun as is, and you never know what they might become. Wattpad taught us to love stories no matter the grammatical errors or plotholes, and similarly, I’ll never let cheesy dialogue or overused tropes keep me from enjoying these movies.
Fangirl Faves
Screen Time
Ethan Slater’s ex-wife wrote an article for The Cut, offering a fascinating perspective on navigating a public divorce with an emerging celeb as a normie.
Laufey’s Christmas album is single-handedly responsible for getting me into the holiday spirit. I can’t stop listening!
My Elena Ferrante obsession is still going strong, especially now that I’m watching the My Brilliant Friend TV series on Max. It’s a fabulous adaptation, and I’m thrilled to spend more time with Lenu and Lila.
Lit Check
Currently reading: James by Percival Everett
I just finished All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker and absolutely loved it. If you’re into thrillers with a heavy dose of character development, it’s a must-read.
Oscar for best teaser teller goes to....