How to Build a Better Boy

Mae lied about having a boyfriend after being publicly humiliated by Nevaeh Barnes, who flaunted dating Jaden Stark in front of everyone. To save face and escape the embarrassment, Mae claimed she already had a boyfriend, forcing Gabby to come up with a plan to back up the lie.

X-17 is a cutting-edge computer program that Mae's father James Hartley uses for his Pentagon work to design high-definition video game characters. However, it's actually a prototype for creating robot soldiers. When Gabby used it to create a virtual boyfriend, the software malfunctioned and produced a real functioning robot instead of a virtual character.

Albert isn't a virtual boyfriend but an actual robot soldier prototype created by the X-17 software. The malfunction caused the program to generate a physical robot with abilities far beyond a normal human, he can read at incredible speeds, kick and throw with superhuman power, and process information faster than anyone else.

General McFee and the army become involved because Albert is a missing Pentagon prototype robot soldier. When the X-17 software crashed Mae's father's computer, it created a dangerous weapon that ended up in a high school. The military's job is to contain the prototype and eventually retrieve it for national security purposes.

Albert self-destructs because Mae asks him to. After dancing with him at Homecoming, Mae realizes that even though everything is perfect, she wants a real relationship with a real boy who isn't engineered. When Albert explains the army is there to retrieve him, Mae asks him to destroy himself instead of being taken back. He complies, bursting through the ceiling.

The army manipulates the Homecoming election to ensure Albert and Mae are crowned King and Queen, making the night perfect for Albert's mission. James Hartley convinces General McFee to wait until Albert completes his mission, to kiss Mae at the dance, before retrieving the robot. The army stuffs the ballot box to guarantee the desired outcome.

Black Sigma is an international arms dealer group whose members, Zephyr, Weevil, and Pox, break into the Hartley house looking for the X-17 prototype robot. They cause an EMP blackout during the football game to short-circuit Albert, but the army contained their intrusion and secured the area.

Jaden admits he always intended to ask Mae to Homecoming but lacked the courage to do so. After dumping Nevaeh for trying to sabotage Mae's night, Jaden confesses his true feelings to Mae, explaining that his fear prevented him from asking her earlier.

Gabby and Bart start dating by the end of the movie. Their relationship develops through their shared secret about Albert, Bart agrees to fix the crashed computer in exchange for Gabby going to Homecoming with him, and as they work together to manage the chaos, they grow closer.

Mae stops Albert from kissing her because she realizes she wants a genuine relationship with a real person, not a perfectly engineered boyfriend. Even though the moment is flawless on paper, she tells Albert it doesn't feel right and she wants someone whose imperfections make him human.

Albert's mission was to attend the Homecoming dance and kiss Mae as the culmination of his programming. After that, the army planned to retrieve him. The robot was designed with the directive to provide Mae with the ultimate high school romance, and completing the kiss was part of his operational protocol.

The EMP blackout caused by Black Sigma's sabotage short-circuits Albert's wiring and temporarily disables him. Since Albert is a robot with electronic systems, the electromagnetic pulse disrupts his circuits much like it would any electronic device, rendering him immobile until the army arrives.