Review: Lots to Love About Imperfect Teen Romcom Love, Simon
3.5 out of 5 orange-filled Oreos.
Love, Simon is an adorable addition to the teen movie canon. Based on the 2015 book, Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, the film is a charming romcom about a teen named Simon (Nick Robinson), who falls for an unidentified student from his high school he starts emailing with. It might sound familiar, except for one huge difference … Simon’s gay.
True to its marketing, the Greg Berlanti-directed film is a movie you’ve seen before, but gay. Simon’s sexuality is never a secret to the audience. He frequently confesses to lusting after the hunky gardener, or describing his sexual awakening to Daniel Radcliffe on a Harry Potter poster, or crushing on Panic! at the Disco’s Brendon Urie. He has a loving family, a great group of friends, and is living an idyllic suburban life, but he still doesn’t feel comfortable coming out. It’s not until Simon discovers another closeted kid, called “Blue,” from his school, who he becomes anonymous pen pals with, that he feels okay speaking about that part of his identity. Weaned on endless movies with happy love stories, Simon wants a great high school romance, and increasingly wants to know who his crush is in real life.
Things become complicated after another acquaintance from school, named Martin (Logan Miller), discovers Simon’s private messages, and uses them as blackmail. Martin will keep quiet only if Simon helps him woo his friend, Abby (Alexandra Shipp). Because Simon is afraid of being outed and scaring off his secret crush, Simon starts lying to his pals to make it work.
There’s a lot to love about Love, Simon. Simon is a cute boy, and it’s easy to ship him with every flirty guy he meets, as he pines to have a real-life boyfriend. Robison, who also did swoony in last year’s Everything, Everything, is equally well-cast here. However, Simon’s struggle to appear unaffected (and not inadvertently caught in a gay extortion plot) can sometimes force his performance to be too internal, although the talented Robinson really excels in scenes where his personality can shine.
It’s not perfect, but you’re also seeing more diverse kids on screen than ever before, where they are the equals of their white peers. And unlike the teen fare of yesteryear, any gayness is not merely subtext, but explicitly stated. The ’90s had a lot of teen movies, but they never had that. There’s actually a line in the film where Simon mentions ’90s movies are what he and his friends watch together. The callbacks to various films from that time, particularly Never Been Kissed and 10 Things I Hate About You, can only be deliberate. While it’s a smidge disappointing how much this movie plays into the old teen romantic comedy tropes, it does more than hold its own with its predecessors. That it’s so much like straight romances is not a fault, but does mean that it also falls victim to cliches of the genre.
The movie bafflingly feels like it’s from 2005. Just the fact Simon and Blue use email to communicate, instead of a social media app, seems dated for today. There’s two stereotypical bullies, who mainly concentrate their attention on the one out kid, gender-nonconforming Ethan (Clark Moore). While the bullies eventually get reprimanded, Martin gets away with his egregious behavior. Blackmail was just the start, but he seems to get a pass because he has an off-screen “gay brother,” when what he does to Simon is the most homophobic thing in this movie. (Martin’ room also includes a Borat poster, which not only contributes to the mid-aughties feel, but also telegraphs that his character is a jerk).
Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who plays Simon’s friend Nick, gets some nice gags—for instance, when he worriedly babbles about his lack of sexual prowess when it comes to dating a more experienced girl, or when he tells a well-meaning white friend, “It doesn’t do that,” after the suggestion that he slick his thick hair down. Keiynan Lonsdale rounds out the teen cast as a sensitive jock with impeccable taste in Halloween costumes.
Natasha Rothwell is the MVP of the adults (and maybe the entire movie) as the scene-stealing drama teacher, Ms. Albright. She went from being an extra in Broadway’s The Lion King, to stuck directing a no-cut production of Cabaret with a bunch of hormone-fueled monsters, and she is not happy. She uses her limited screen time to great effect, getting some of the best lines, and she even has a bit of a hero moment in the third act. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel play the loving, supportive parents. Embarrassing, yet well-meaning Hot Dad is a role that suits Duhamel surprisingly well. Tony Hale is also there as an off-putting vice principal who wishes he were one of the cool kids.
There’s quite a lot of laugh out loud moments, including a fantasy musical number. Without spoiling the whole fan-favorite sequence, it is set to an iconic diva’s ’80s hit, and it’s about how awesome it is to be gay in college.
Regarding production values, the movie looks good. You can also tell a lot of time was spent on what personal items or decor would be shown in the kids’ rooms and lockers. The soundtrack, a collection of pop and alt-rock songs, suits the film well, but is not especially memorable. Additionally, the editing helps create some nice visual jokes, and the film does a good job of keeping the numerous email-writing scenes interesting, by having montages of Simon’s memories and daydreams illustrate the stories he’s telling Blue.
Ultimately, the movie is a successful adaptation, although there is one major, unnecessary change. For the movie, Simon’s friend Leah’s (Katherine Langford) crush on Nick is transferred to Simon. It’s especially nonsensical since all of the other beats regarding the subplot remain the same as in the book. Is this to make sure audiences know Simon is attractive to girls? Because someone mistakenly thought “childhood best friend is secretly in love with opposite-sex best friend” was an original concept? Maybe it’s because the writers knew that without this change, Leah would have been an easy character to cut (there’s a handful, from the source material, who are missing). The latter may have been the better option, since the writing for this character was lacking.
Love, Simon is a landmark mainstream, coming-of-age movie with a gay protagonist. Movies with queer themes are usually relegated to art house pictures, and it’s noteworthy how accessible this film is. Also, that it is ultimately a happy and uplifting film, and in no way contributes to the “Bury Your Gays” trend in media, is significant. Hollywood should have been producing movies like Love, Simon for, at least, the last 15 years, and hopefully they start catching up as soon as possible, with ever more diverse teens.
(image: 20th Century Fox)
Jenna is a freelance writer from the New York City area. She has appeared on Teen Vogue, Film School Rejects, and Daytime Confidential. Any spare time is spent obsessing over pop culture. You can join the discussion over on her Twitter here.
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