This is my Love, Simon review. Last weekend my daughter and I went to see Love, Simon, it’s a coming of age movie, almost John Hughes- esq, based on the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Love, Simon Review
Love, Simon is a coming of age and coming out movie. Its protagonist, Simon, has been chatting with an unknown schoolmate who has anonymously disclosed he is gay, though not out, in an online forum. Simon discloses that he is also gay, but hasn’t told anyone though he is sure his parents would understand and support him. While chatting online in the school library, Simon forgets to sign out of his gmail account. The class clown stumbles on the emails and discovers Simon’s secret. He then blackmails Simon into fixing the class clown up with Simon’s friend Abby.
Simon finds himself tangled in a web of lies and is eventually outed.
Like Simon, we don’t know who his love interest is until the very end, at which point the theater erupted in applause.
I could pick apart this movie if I wanted to, and I see many have, but the truth is I loved it. This movie had me crying like I did in The Fault in our Stars – uncontrollably and ugly. Happy tears and sad tears – lots of tears. All the feels.
Life is complicated, being gay is even more complicated, being gay and being outed is incredibly complicated. Relationships are complicated. Simon struggles with his relationship with his parents, his sister, his friends and with his love interest – like all of us do.
That’s what worked so well in this movie, while it is a gay coming of age movie, it’s really just a coming of age movie.
It’s also the first gay coming of age movie that is a major studio release. If you’re gay and want to see a movie you can relate to, you don’t have to go to some indie theater on the other side of town. You can go to any multiplex in any mall and see a movie that you can completely related to. That’s an amazing thing.
Should you take younger kids to see Love, Simon?
I’m pretty sure a 5 year old isn’t going to be interested in this movie, but someone who is in the 9-13 age bracket will love it. There’s no nudity, very little swearing and only one kiss. As for the subject matter, by all means take your younger children to see this movie. Let’s make a gay coming of age movie the most boring thing in the world so these kids don’t feel the angst, anxiety, fear, and downright terror of coming out. And, so no one can out them.
Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel were fantastic in this movie. The play progessive parents who manage to still say the wrong thing, at least the dad does. Nick Robinson (Simon) is wonderful in this movie. He conveys more with his face than he does with dialog. It’s heartbreaking to watch him suffer. Katherine Langford is underused, but what she brings to the movie is also damn good.
The audience loved this movie. People were clapping and cheering and crying. No one yelled homophobic slurs, no one got upset and no one protested the movie. It was just another movie with a bunch of great actors and great story. Oh, and the soundtrack is awesome.
Go see Love, Simon, bring tissues, and be prepared to leave with warm fuzzy feelings.
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