Review of Love, Simon (2018) by Samantha M — 21 Oct 2018

"Love, Simon" is the most socially modern movie out to this day. As it is the first ever motion picture to have its plot be about the coming out of a high school male. The film "Love, Simon" was originally created as a young adult fiction novel by Becky Albertalli called "Simon vs The Homosapiens Agenda" and was adapted into movie screens in 2017. The film was directed by Greg Berlanti and actor Nick Robinson took on the role as the closeted teen. Robinson was a perfect match to represent an average high school student. He had a funny yet awkward personality on screen that made him relatable and easy to like. He indeed had big shoes to fill, being the first ever actor to portray the newly accepted idea of homosexuality by society. Love, Simon is a movie that was set to high standards, and those standards were met.

"Love, Simon" is what you would expect out of teen RomCom. It's funny, emotional, awkward, and entirely relatable. The movie revolves around the life of high school student Simon Spier. He has what seems like the perfect family (very common to most teen movies), a good group of friends (as well a common) and just can't seem to express himself fully. But his situation is unique from all other movies, he is gay and no one knows. As time goes by he starts an online relationship with an anonymous gay guy in his school called Blue. While waiting to find out who this mystery man is the audience gets to see Simon evolve as a character and how although he never doubted who he was, you get to see how he builds confidence throughout the movie.

One thing this movie doesn't do very well is developing other characters besides Simon. The only other character we see developed and that we learn some background information about is Simon's friend Abby who is played by Alexandra Shipp. His closest friend Leah, played by Katherine Langford, is given no background information at all. We are just told that she has been Simon's best friend for years but we never get any more information on their friendship and they do not have many scenes together showcasing their friendship. So, one thing this movie could've done better was develop their characters and give more insight to them.

With being the first ever teen RomCom about the LGBT+ community this movie did a great job with making it personal, emotional, and relatable. It also sheds so much positive light on this community who is used to so much negativity. This feel-good movie is full of emotional ups and downs that all lead to the ending that every person in the audience was hoping for. The build up to this happy ending is greatly scripted with some serious topics that are always followed by some kind of comic relief. For example, while on the topic of how Simon is gay and how he feels intimidated with the fact that he actually has to come out, the scene changes to an imaginary life of his where after he came out, he breaks into dance with a bunch of people all wearing rainbow colors. Definitely one of the best parts of the movies mainly because it used comedy to speak to the stereotype of what being gay is like.

This movie serves as a conversation starter today. The dialogue, characters, and genre of this movie can appeal to any age group. While specifically categorized as a teen movie, the role of parents is a highly emphasized focus on screen. The characters are what make this movie the beautiful story that it is. Scenes with Simon and his parents touch on more of the emotional relatability of the plot. These scenes are some of the most impactful scenes mostly because of how real and raw the dialogue is. Simon's mom states, "Simon, you get to be more you than you have been in a really long time", as tears stream down Simon's face as well as ours (Love, Simon 2018). Those words are just a few that pull on the audience's heart strings and touch on the more emotional side of the film.

For the time period that we are in, this movie was greatly needed for a vast number of our population. I give this movie an 8 out of 10 for multiple reasons. It is a movie that fits perfectly in with other RomCom's, but the originality of the plot is what makes it stand out. Although the plot is unique the movie still uses aspects of other teen movies to appeal to its selected audience. The movie was full of a star list of actors that fit perfectly into the roles of their characters such as, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, and Katherine Langford. "Love, Simon" was created at a time exactly when it was needed. Being full of both laughs and tears the movie creates a common medium of emotions felt. You begin to root for the characters but also at times want to yell at them because you become emotionally connected to them. The movie focuses on acceptance, self-empowerment, and positivity all with the underlying message of never be afraid to be yourself.