Love, Simon Review

At this point, both the romantic comedy and coming-of-age genres are overstuffed with clichéd, forgettable flicks that are critically panned and ignored by moviegoers. Once in a while, however, a mainstream coming-of-age romantic comedy resonates well with both critics and general audiences. Love, Simon is one of those films; not since The Edge of Seventeen have I enjoyed a mainstream film of this genre this much.

Love, Simon greatly benefited from extreme originality. For those of you who don’t know, this film is the story of seventeen-year-old Simon Spier, a high school senior who happens to be gay and closeted. He is set on not revealing his sexuality until he begins conversing via email with an anonymous classmate who is secretly gay too. This online relationship pushes Simon to make some important decisions; it also gets him involved in some unwanted trouble with a manipulative classmate. This is by no means the first film centered around a gay main protagonist, but it is the first mainstream romantic comedy centered around one. This is incredibly refreshing. The film is so good that it makes you wonder what took so long for such a film to be made.

Besides the original subject matter, this film also stands out because it is not trivial or exploitative. The writers could have taken the easy way out and made the movie a pity party by portraying Simon’s life as difficult, unfulfilling, and depressing. Yes, a big part of the film revolves around his sexuality, but there is never a “Woe is me” tone. He has a happy life. Part of the reason I loved Call Me By Your Name so much was for this reason. A film should entertain you with its writing and character; it should not have to rely on something so trivial because it comes across as exploitative.

Furthermore, this film has several great characters who are thoroughly developed and are anti-stereotypical. There is no “jock” or “nerd” or “popular mean girl.” All of the characters are unique and complex, something hard to come by in such a cliched genre. The film, of course, focuses on Simon, and his character is the most complex of all. He is very likeable and has an intricate backstory. Even the antagonist is not a thin, cliched character. He has a unique and understandable motive, and you are not really allowed to hate him. Thus, this movie continues to transcend the conventions of its genre even beyond its initial setup, and that makes it all the more admirable.

The acting in this film was also excellent. I cannot think of a single weak link in the cast. All of the friends were portrayed very well, and the actor who played the antagonist was just as good. Simon’s parents, played by the well-respected Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel, gave convincing, empathetic performances that really added to the emotion of the film. The real star of the show, though, was Nick Robinson, who played Simon. Nick Robinson has been in a few high profile movies in the past like Jurassic World, Everything, Everything, and The 5th Wave, but he had never really stood out. His performance in this film, however, was excellent. This is very much his “breakout role” and I think we will be seeing a lot more of him in the future. He is very charismatic for starters, but he backs up this likeability with a very impressive performance. He handled the complex script very well; he was funny when he had to be, but he was still able to be serious and give a moving, vulnerable performance. He made the character seems all the more real, which made the movie resonate with all its viewers more than it already did.

That brings me to the script. All of the dialogue felt natural and realistic. The writing made the film more endearing and relatable. If you cannot see part of yourself somewhere in a coming-of-age film, then it lacks resonance, and it has failed at its intended purpose. I am happy to say that Love, Simon fully succeeds at this endeavor. It is moving and vulnerable without being sappy, and it is funny without being unrealistic or obnoxious. It is indeed the ideal mainstream coming-of-age romantic comedy.

As for the film’s downside, I disliked its ending. I will not spoil it, but it neatly solves all the issues plaguing the characters, and it has a very optimistic ending. I suppose this is more of a personal preference, but the perfect ending takes away from the realism and originality of the film. This is the case with most mainstream films of this genre because most people enjoy happy endings in romantic comedies. I believe it could have been a bit more realistic and open-ended. I saw this ending coming, and it was not my personal preference.

Nonetheless, Love, Simon is a very unique coming-of-age film. There are no other family-friendly, mainstream, coming-of-age, romantic comedies about a gay character in existence. This is the first and only one that comes to mind. Yet the film has enough merit to stand on its own. It is a legitimately great film, and it is in the upper echelon of its genre. I would not call it a masterpiece, and it does not deserve any prestigious filmmaking awards, but it fully succeeds at what it tries to be: a fun, heartfelt coming-of-age romantic comedy that all moviegoers can enjoy.