Kanika Kumar
‘Sex Appeal’ is Hulu’s sex comedy film which revolves around Avery Hansen-White’s (Mika Abdalla) sexual adventures. Academically bright but sexually naive, Avery decides to take a scientific approach to the act of lovemaking. The teen movie, directed by Talia Osteen, attempts to put forth a healthy, humorous, and positive perspective towards sexual pleasure.
Throughout the coming-of-age film, Avery makes use of her childhood best friend, Larson (Jake Short), to develop her sex app and get ready for intercourse with her boyfriend, Casper (Mason Versaw). We also see Avery interacting with her high school classmates to get data for her project. Lyssa (Daniela Nieves) is a character who is seen sporadically throughout the movie; she becomes extremely important towards the end and represents a pertinent shift in Avery and Larson’s relationship. So, who is Lyssa? And does she end up with Larson? Let’s find out! SPOILERS AHEAD.
Who is Lyssa?
At the beginning of the film, we see Larson and Avery talking about STEMCON. Then, a pretty girl walks past Larson and he immediately becomes attracted to her. Avery notices her too and says “cute.” “Some of us experience attraction to other humans,” Larson states, taunting Avery’s practical and emotionless outlook. “And for some of us, attraction is sapiosexual,” retorts Avery, implying that Larson is only interested in good looks.
Throughout the film, we see Larson checking out the pretty girl in the hallways, whose name is later revealed to be Lyssa. When Avery gets the idea to practice sexual activities, she rushes to Larson’s band practice and asks him in front of everyone to hook up with her after school for scientific purposes. Lyssa, who is playing the guitar, watches them, clearly surprised. She also seems slightly disappointed, perhaps because she is interested in Larson.
Later, when Larson tries to approach Lyssa, Avery stops him in his path to ask doubts about blowjobs. Lyssa overhears them and seems mildly confused; Larson runs away from Avery in embarrassment. A few days later, Larson crashes into Lyssa around a corner and drops his books. He apologizes, and she jokes about blind corners getting them every single time.
Then, Lyssa says, “Um, you play the trombone, right? We have band together?” Thus, it becomes obvious that she has noticed him before and is trying to make conversation with him. Larson seems delighted that she’s talking to him. However, before Lyssa can introduce herself, Avery swoops in to grab Larson for their sexual practice. Lyssa seems disappointed and rejects the next boy who tries to talk to her. Thus, it’s obvious that she has a crush on Larson but is unaware of his feelings for her.
Do Lyssa and Larson End Up Together?
After STEMCON, Avery goes to Larson to talk about her first time. However, he is hurt by how she experimented on him and not with him. He also blames her self-centered perspective, emphasizing that he had finally moved on from her after their failed kiss at the age of 14 but now has redeveloped feelings for her thanks to the sex experiment.
However, Avery realizes her true feelings and crashes Larson’s band practice again to admit that his hypothesis about love and lovemaking being intertwined is right. Lyssa watches Larson, clearly concerned about him. Larson then takes Avery out of class; she confesses that she loves him and asks him to go to prom with her. However, he rejects her, saying that even though he does love her, he needs to be with others like him and thus find a healthy relationship.
Avery becomes miserable as she has lost both her best friend and love interest. However, Ms. Carlson convinces her that it’s a good thing that her heart is hurting, as it implies that it is alive and functional. Avery then realizes that she needs to stop thinking about herself and focus on others instead. So, she approaches Lyssa outside school and tells her that Larson has a crush on her. It is clear that Avery feels bad about hurting her best friend and wants to make his life better.
Lyssa is surprised by the information given to her, as she had assumed that Avery and Larson are “a thing.” Avery confirms that they are not, and asks Lyssa to take Larson to prom if she likes him as well. When Lyssa wonders why Larson can’t ask her himself, Avery says that he has been hurt and thus won’t “put himself out there” again. She assures Lyssa that Larson is “worth it,” and the other girl agrees to ask him to prom.
Then, Avery becomes worried about whether she’s setting her best friend up with the right girl. “Hey, cute girl. You have some personality, right?” she asks Lyssa. “Okay, first of all, cute is a term I reserve for Insta-famous hedgehogs. I’m not a girl, I’m a young woman with an extensive list of interests and just because I practice active listening doesn’t mean I’m inarticulate or submissive,” Lyssa says boldly, making it apparent that she doesn’t like being judged according to stereotypes. Avery seems impressed and reassured.
“Hi, my name is Lyssa,” Lyssa adds finally, extending her hand to shake Avery’s. Now, Avery seems to be of the opinion that Lyssa is a good match for Larson. At prom, Avery watches Lyssa and Larson happily dancing together and seems slightly jealous. It’s obvious that the two are getting along quite well and will possibly start dating seriously. Eventually, Avery decides to be happy for her best friend and goes dancing with her classmates. Thus, Larson and Lyssa do end up together, thanks to Avery; however, they would have started dating earlier if the brainiac had not interrupted their conversations with her experiment. Lyssa and Larson will likely be in a healthy romantic relationship because the former is able to give the latter her full attention, is interested in his feelings and opinions, and also shares the same musical interests as him.
Read More: Is STEMCON a Real Competition? Is Sex Appeal a Real App?
