Love, Simon Review

Starring:

Nick Robinson

Katharine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Keiynan Lonsdale, Miles Heizer, Logan Miller

Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Tony Hale, Natasha Rothwell

When I first saw a trailer for Love, Simon, I remarked that it looked like a regular, bland young adult adaptation. The only thing that made it unique was a gay protagonist. It seemed gimmicky, and I quickly wrote it off. However, the reviews for Love, Simon were so extraordinary, it inspired me to read the novel Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, of which the movie is based, and I saw the movie the day after finishing the book. Love, Simon is about a closeted gay teenager in a Georgia high school, and his relationship with a mysterious similarly closeted student at his school that he meets online. The film deals with issues such as self-acceptance, coming out, the messiness of relationships (romantic, friendly, and familial) and identity in high school. The film is a beautiful love letter to the LGBT youth but hits so many more marks. I would argue that Simon and his story are relatable to everyone who has ever been in high school, regardless of sexual orientation. Everyone can relate to loneliness and the quirky horrors of navigating high school with some sort of problem or secret. I was shocked to find that Love, Simon transported me back to my high school, and presented the most authentic and realized version of a 21st century high school that I've ever seen. It's like an updated version of the John Hughes classic. The odd thing about Love, Simon is that it's basically a perfect movie. Yet on paper, this would never seem to be an artistic and challenging film.

Simon's three best friends are played by Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Langford has the biggest role and the biggest arc, likely because she's hot off of Thirteen Reasons Why. This is the first thing I have seen her in since Thirteen Reasons Why, and it reaffirms her talent in my eyes. I was also pleasantly surprised that her star-making role in that show, especially one as commanding as hers, didn't threaten to overshadow Simon. Her character of Leah was very reserved, and she was a worthy counterpart to Simon. Alexandra Shipp played Abby, and showed acting skill that far exceeded what I saw of her in X-Men: Apocalypse (her Storm was absolutely awful) and Jorge Lendeborg Jr, though a newcomer, still impressed me. The foursome of teenagers reminded me a lot of the friends I had when I was in high school, and the often changing dynamics between us. Simon's friends are overly dramatic and have angsty confrontations, but it all feels authentic rather than a stereotype. There are a few other high school students who have bigger roles, but it's Langford, Shipp, and Lendeborg Jr that really sell the student experience, and it makes the high school seem believable. And at the center of the film is Nick Robinson as Simon. Long gone is the terrible Jurassic World performance (so terrible his character was written out of the upcoming sequel) and here to stay is a movie star. That's right, Robinson exudes so much charm and wit as Simon, that I'd liken his rise to Ansel Elgort in The Fault in Our Stars. Love, Simon is a film that works at every possible level, so there is room for Simon to be a flat character and still, the rest of the movie would work around him. Yet Robinson injects Simon with beauty and depth; with sadness and realism, and the result is one of the most affecting YA protagonists I have ever seen in film.

The chief selling point for Love, Simon to me was the John Hughes comparisons. John Hughes is a name legendary in the world in film. He's the man who helmed the National Lampoon films and countless classic comedies, but his most famous were those set in high school. The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles and Weird Science are all some of the most iconic films from the 80s, and of all-time. Love, Simon director Greg Berlanti has somehow captured lightning in a bottle, because he has perfectly created a high school film in the style of Hughes' classics. The world of Simon's Georgia school is an idyllic society. There are no real consequences to actions, everyone gets a happy ending, and the kids all ride off into the sunset. Those were the stories of Molly Ringwald and the Breakfast Club in their outings. Yet somehow, John Hughes was always able to make the stakes feel real, which is how his films resonated with adolescents everywhere. Likewise, Greg Berlanti and the team behind Love, Simon are able to update John Hughes' model and apply it to modern times. It's an idyllic high school experience, far from the possible consequences of coming out and the realistic negativity. But for the entirety of the film, you're sucked right into Simon's world, and he resonates with you despite the blissful and halcyon world he lives in.

One of the most interesting parts of Love, Simon lies in the Spier family. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel play Simon's parents, and the relatability is astounding. My parents are nothing like the Spiers, nor have any I have met. They live in a perfect world that just doesn't fit in society. Yet they still feel accessible. This is because Garner and Duhamel give tiny shreds to their characters; little nuances to the performances that allow the audience to grab whatever piece they relate to and hang onto it. Duhamel plays a father that is a little homophobic towards Simon. But the film creates numerous safeguards to allow this to be a misunderstanding and give Simon and his father a very tender moment. Likewise, Garner plays the very stereotypical overbearing but kindhearted mom. But much like Dad, she has a single very tender out-of-character moment with Simon. It is through the family that Love, Simon is able to throw enough lines to evoke a sense of realism, yet still stay grounded in perfection.

There's just something about Love, Simon that excites the movie-lover inside me. To see a movie that's so perfectly executed and possessing the sheen of the classics was an incredible theater experience. It checks all the boxes. The performances are wonderful, the setting is movie magic, and the score and soundtrack perfectly set the tone. Finally, I'm going to address the LGBT message. The message of gay acceptance does not really matter, while at the same time, it most certainly does. The film is about so much more than a gay boy finding his way, which is why it is so relatable. But the message should still be celebrated. Love, Simon is the first mainstream film to tackle LGBT issues in the youth head-on. And it's a sweeping success. Love, Simon really represents the pinnacle of message movies. The message is relevant and effective. Yet strip it away, and you still have a beautiful story and a wonderful film.

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