We were delighted, last week, when we were given the chance to see Love, Simon – the total must-see movie this year. The film was officially released two days ago, on 6 April 2018, in the UK; although, it was previously officially released a month beforehand or so, in other countries.
The film is based off a book, titled Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. The adaption was directed by openly-gay writer and producer Greg Berlanti, and it was written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. It is the first major studio film that focuses on gay teenage romance, and it’s a welcome sight to see hit cinemas instead of being released straight to online services and DVD like GBF was.
Our main character in Love, Simon is – yeah, you guessed it – Simon Spier, played by Nick Robinson (Jurassic World, Melissa & Joey, The 5th Wave), who is in the closet. The film opens with his normal every-day life. He’s a high school student with a close-knit group of friends, who are Nick Eisner, played by Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spiderman: Homecoming, Brigsby Bear); Leah Burke, played by Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why, The Misguided); and Abby Suso, played by Alexandra Shipp (Straight Outta Compton, X-Men: Apocalypse, Tragedy Girls, House Of Anubis). He also has a loving and caring family, his parents are Jack Spier and Emily Spier, played by Josh Duhamel (Transformers Franchise, Win A Date With Tad Hamilton, Life As We Know It, Safe Haven) and Jennifer Garner (Alias, 13 Going On 30, Daredevil, Juno) respectively; as well as a younger sister, Nora Spier, played by Talitha Bateman (Annabelle: Creation, The 5th Wave, Nine Lives).
Simon’s life is ordinary, he has a good group of friends, a family who loves him, and an all right school life. That is until a guy, codenamed Blue, confesses on the school online site that he’s in the closet. Simon decides to strike up a conversation with Blue through email, hiding behind the name Jacques. Simon starts to fall in love with this email buddy of his as they connect through the secret they share, keeping it from everyone they know.
Throughout the film, Simon is forever wondering who Blue is and we watch as his imagination transpires to different guys being Blue and emailing Simon back. That is until Martin Addison, played by Logan Miller (A Dog’s Purpose, I’m In The Band, The Maze), finds the emails on the library computer and screenshots them all. He uses these emails to blackmail Simon into helping him try to get with Abby; this takes Simon on a downward spiral in deception and lies until it all goes wrong and Martin outs Simon on the school site. This changes Simon’s whole life – his friends find out he’s lied and deceived them due to Martin’s blackmail and his family struggles to deal with him coming out. He also gets bullied to an extent and he’s still trying to find out who Blue is.
This film is exactly what we all needed. We’ve been waiting for a gay coming of age film that hits cinemas for forever. Love, Simon encourages and gives strength to every single person who’s either in the closet, has been forced out, or are already out. It is going to be the LGBTQ+ film of the year. It not only makes the community empowered, it also spreads understanding and love for parents, siblings, family members, and friends.
It’s a hard reality sometimes. Love, Simon really delves into the popular segment of today’s life where being openly gay is accepted. It’s not as big as a problem as it is in some countries and cities, as well as the past. Things are different, but Love, Simon also shows how difficult it can be and explains why many teenagers don’t come out whilst in school.
We can’t help but love this film; the characters, the storyline, the music, it really has it all. Expect tears, cheers, and laughter throughout this romcom coming of age film. Love, Simon touches the heart and Nick Robinson plays Simon Spier absolutely perfectly. It really allows Nick Robinson to shine as an actor – he is certainly one to watch as the years go by.
Plenty of other known actors and actresses appear in Love, Simon. You may notice Keiynan Lonsdale (Dance Academy, The Flash, Insurgent), Tony Hale (Arrested Development, Veep), Natasha Rothwell (Insecure), Miles Heizer (Nerve, 13 Reasons Why, Parenthood), Joey Pollari (Skyrunners, Avalon High, American Crime), Mackenzie Lintz (Under The Dome), amongst many others. We have to admit, we adored the inclusion of Ethan, played by Clark Moore; he’s the openly-gay guy at Simon’s school. He shows off a whole other side to the gay community, showing that everyone’s an individual and everybody can be themselves.
Love, Simon also touches on pivotal moments in LGBTQ+ lives. The one striking scene is when Simon wonders about coming out and asks why straight is the default. This is followed by a bunch of imaginary scenes where his friends all come out as straight to their parents. It is definitely an important segment of the film, as it does make everyone think about it. The thing is, some people consider coming out to be their break-free moment; from that day on, they can be themselves, their no longer hiding who they are – regardless of what the consequences are, they can tackle them head-on whilst being themselves throughout. It takes some time for Simon to realise that, but he also gets his freedom moment.
Love, Simon deserves all this critical acclaim that it’s been getting for the last month because it truly digs deep, tells an empowering story, and truly represents the LGBTQ+ community perfectly. Expect tears, expect laughter, and expect a strong understanding. You’ll connect with these characters on an unforgettable emotional level. We expect to see this film win a tonne of awards this year. We’ll state it’s our 2018 film of the year.