Love, Simon is the wonderful movie based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, and directed by Greg Berlanti: most notable as the guy that created the Arrowverse on The CW. Here he has the task of directing a teen romantic comedy with a gay protagonist as he deals with coming out, dating, falling in love for the first time, his parents, and all high school drama. What could have pandered to an audience ends up being a superbly beautiful movie about acceptance, love and family.
We follow 17-year-old Simon Spier, played wonderfully by Nick Robinson; he is a closeted gay teenager in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. He has yet to come out, but has found solace with communicating anonymously with another closeted classmate, who calls himself Blue. Soon a blackmailer who finds Simon’s emails threatens to out Simon unless he helps him date one of Simon’s best friends. Simon is then forced to come to terms with his homosexuality and try to find the secret identify of the anonymous classmate he has fallen in love with.
This movie is perfect. It’s beautiful from start to finish, showing the world of today a glimpse into how love can conquer all if it was just given a chance. It’s important for films like this to be made and showcased to the world. It shows the change in the tide, that anything can happen, where all are accepted no matter what. Whether you’re gay, straight, black, white, Asian, or whatever you are or want to be: it’s ok. And this is a perfect movie to show the world that.
Nick Robinson holds this movie together with the skill of an actor far older and more experienced than he is. He works so seamlessly with every other actor he’s in a scene with. He spends most of his scenes with his friends, and all are just as good as Robinson and their scenes are hilarious. We watch real kids have fun and deal with all the drama that teenagers deal with these days. Katherine Langford plays Leah, Simon’s BFF, who has been love with him since they were kids. We all know that girl in school who just had a crush so bad it hurt. Langford plays this masterfully. Her and Simon’s friendship is important to the film and each of these actors make use of the craft to convey this.
This movie gives you all the feels: from historical laughter to out right sobbing. This hits you right in the heart and makes you think, which is what art should do. And as I can tell from the audiences’ laughter, screams, and cheers the movie did accomplish what it set out to do. When Simon finally meets Blue in the movie you could hear a pin drop in the theater. Everyone was on the edge of his or her seat waiting to see who it was. And once he arrived the cheers deafened the theater with joy and happiness for Simon’s character. It was a powerful thing to witness.
One of the best parts of the movie is the relationship Simon has with his parents, played by Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner. They are the perfect parents for a movie like this. They love their son no matter what and they take the opportunity to make sure he knows that everyday. These are portrayals of parents that every kid who comes out as gay wishes they had. Yes, they are awesome parents due to plot, but it’s a look at a positive side of the coming out process. It doesn’t have to be shown as a horrible thing. There are plenty of other dramatic films that show that. And here it’s being shown in the positive way that the entire world should be striving for.
Simon has two important powerful scenes with his parents. One is with his mother, which is a highlight of the film, showcasing both Nick Robinson and Jennifer Garner’s talent. They discuss how it’s ok to be himself and he can now breathe again, no longer needing to hold himself in any longer.
The other scene is between Simon and his father, where he apologies for all the “gay” jokes he may have said in jest over Simon’s life. He feels terrible and shouldn’t have made them. Simon forgives his father because they love one another and they can get past it and move into a better father/son relationship as equals where each truly knows the other. It’s a beautiful scene capped off with a Grindr joke. As it should be. Hands down these are the most important scenes in this movie. And everyone who was involved should be thanked for showing how beautiful coming out can be.
This is one great movie, and it should be noted that it is historically significant as the first film ever released by a major studio focusing on a gay teenage romance. Remember, just ten years ago this would have not been made, and if it had it would have been shown only in art houses, mainstream media wouldn’t have seen it. The fact that this was made is already showing how times are changing for the better. This movie has come out at the right time, a time where free thinkers, people of color, or people who are deemed different all face terrible odds daily. This is a movie that can change minds. This is important.
