Dear Stranger, I Love You
starring: DANIELA COUSO & EVAN ADAMS
A straight-A student runs a secret essay service until a jock discovers her identity and asks for love letters to win his crush. While helping him, she falls for him herself and must choose between staying hidden or living openly.
REVIEW
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Hooray for App Shorts who have delivered a good high/school campus romance that has a well written and thought out love story at the heart of it
Daniela Couso is great as Mia, never making her too meek. Because if you are running an app like that you have to have some sass about you. And I love that she doesn't fall immediately for Brad, but that the relationship evolves out of friendship first.
I've been longing for Evan Adams to get a better script and here it is. And he does have a brief moment where I swear he channels that Heath Ledger mega watt smile, confidence, and charisma. Again because this is well written Brad has more layers but stays real... the date when he gets nervous with Chloe is adorable
And that is the third great part about this Shayla Stensby as Chloe, who is a fully rounded out character you feel for when she gets caught in-between the growing relationship between Brad and Mia.
Sully Christian does look too old to be at high school in my humble opinion, but glad he is there as he is a blast. As is Donald Barre as the exasperated principal.
I wish Zoë Gordon had been given a bit more to do as Samantha, would have liked the character to be given more depth beyond I want to be with Brad just because. And could have done without the whole attempted rape scene at the party.
But overall I want to be positive as there is a real effort to show a positive relationship that blossoms unexpectedly between Mia and Brad.
💖 Top swoonworthy moment:
I feel like Evan Adams has been overdue a better script and here it is. Brad reminds me a bit of Wesley Rush in The DUFF, and in Ep. 7 there is a moment of Heath Ledger like swagger and grin. Give this man more good scripts. And the friends to lovers storyline is very well done, this is a well written love story, with some thoughtful lines, “Love isn’t some big moment. It is the little ones that make you feel seen. Safe. You don’t have to be anybody but yourself.”
🦹🏼♂️ Top villain award:
Um Sully Christian looks way too old to be at High School but he does do a very good sleazeball as Dan. He holds it back just enough that rather than being out and out awful, he clearly has no comprehension that he is a twit. Now the guy with glasses who drugs and attacks Mia in tandem with Samantha. PRISON PLEASE.
😂 Comedy gold:
I did enjoy ‘Pride and Problems’ or perhaps the book we all need ‘Pride and Olives’.
🎺 Unsung hero:
Chloe - and the writer for handling this part of the story so well. Because poor Chloe ends up stuck in between Brad and Mia, but it is handled sensitively, and with respect by all 3. Because life is messy like this, but you can still treat people right.
✍🏼 DETAILS
Director Francis Heath | 2025
Available on App Shorts
