“Love, Simon” Review: EVERYONE Deserves a Great Love Story
I’ll be honest, Love, Simon didn’t pull me in from the trailers. They seemed a little too teenage angsty and formulaic to catch my attention, but I will HAPPILY admit when I am wrong, and I couldn’t have been more wrong with this one. Love, Simon tells the story of Simon, a high school senior living with one giant secret, he is gay. We follow his life throughout most of his senior year. Through the school’s gossip site, Simon discovers there is another gay kid who isn’t out in his school as well. He reaches out to him and starts to form a friendship through email, not knowing the identity of each other. When Simon’s secret is in danger of coming out, he has to make some choices that may not fare so well for him and his tightly knit group of friends. He must find himself and maybe even love while navigating through high school and discovering how to announce to the world who he is.
Love, Simon is so full of heart and emotion that you can’t help but fall in love with it. Nick Robinson really nails this character and was perfectly cast. Each scene is filled with conviction and emotion, portraying his silent struggles underneath. His performance is nuanced and subtle but has such a quiet intensity to it that you are left in awe of him. The supporting cast is fantastic with surprisingly memorable performances by Josh Duhamel as Simon’s father and Tony Hale as Mr. Worth, the high school principal. One of the things they’ve succeeded in doing with Love, Simon is creating a great cast that feels genuine and has great chemistry.
What is remarkably simple and beautiful about Love, Simon is the fact that it does tell a touching love story about two gay young men. It does it in a way that is both truthful and loving, while also maintaining its objective of being a teenage-driven rom-com. It is reminiscent of the John Hughes style story, but with a modern twist. It is not done as a gimmick, and it is not done to be edgy, but it is done with the same love and respect that we see for heterosexual relationship films. There are moments in the film that strike a chord and gives the audience some perspective.
The dialogue in the film is both quick-witted and funny with a sassy and purposeful edge. While some moments are so filled with raw human emotion, there are just as many to make you laugh at the absurdity of adolescence, high school, and just being with family and friends. Because of the simplistic approach to a very complicated and confusing time for teenagers, we are left with a story filled to the brim with heart, humor, and the little glimmer of hope that is found in your first love. Love, Simon is a film that has opened the door to a new perspective on our typical love story, reminding us that yes, everyone and I mean EVERYONE deserves a great love story.
