Love, Simon (B+ or 3.5/4 stars)
'Love, Simon' (directed by Greg Berlanti) is a crowd-pleasing coming-of-age dramedy about a high school teen who finds love in the most unlikely of places. Simon (Nick Robinson, of Jurassic World) is our average 17 yr. old who lives with his loving parents (Josh Duhamel, Jennifer Garner), and young precocious sister (Talitha Bateman). He also has a tight circle of friends in Leah (Katherine Langford, SO good in last yr.'s 13 Reasons Why), Nick (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.) & Abby (Alexandra Shipp), the latter of whom only recently transferred to their high school where Mr. Worth (Tony Hale) is a hands-on vice-principal & Ms. Albright (Natasha Rothwell) is the hilariously drama teacher who's trying to stage their production of Cabaret. But unlike fellow classmate Ethan (Clark Moore) who's openly gay & must deal daily with school bullies, Simon hasn't yet come out of the closet ... to anyone.
The only person who does know is an anonymous gay classmate on the school's social media site. Simon obsesses about the identity of his new friend "Blue" as he starts to believe he's falling in love with this person; who has given him the confidence to accept who he really is. Matters get screwy for Simon when abrasive classmate, Martin (Logan Miller), comes across Blue & his email exchanges on a school computer. Wanting to date Abby, Martin blackmails Simon by saying he'll 'out him' if he doesn't help make Abby fall for him. Wanting to come out on his own terms, but still scared about how/when to do so, Simon reluctantly acquiesces to Martin's demands. This puts stress on him & his relationships with his friends & family, ALL while trying desperately to figure out Blue's identity to see if 'something is there'. Coming-of-age hijinks & sobering catharsis ensues.
'Love, Simon' avoids some darker themes & plot points while still being a fairly important film about teen homosexuality and the inherent drama that concerns it. Instead, it opts for being tender, charming, uplifting & more teen-friendly. That's not to say that it marginalizes the hardship of a teen coming out, but this isn't a downer. What this film mostly reminded me of - in a great way - is one of my favorite teen movies, 1998's Can't Hardly Wait; which didn't headline a gay character, but contained the same type of well worn teen dramedy tropes {a huge teen house party; someone making a big speech during a school football game; hanging out at the local diner, etc}. Both films are immensely likeable & winning.
Nick Robinson is as appealing & relatable as any protagonist in teen dramedies of its ilk. He's a good looking kid, exudes warmth, and yet, the screenplay doesn't cloak him in nobility, either. The things he does to protect his secret are kinda crappy and, when they come out (as they typically do in movie land), the consequences mount. Aside from Robinson, I really liked 13 Reasons Why's Katherine Langford as Simon's BFF, Leah; she sure has a handle on these troubled teen projects, haha. She's just a solid young actress and, her soul-revealing scene with Nick up in his bedroom really got me. Alexandra Shipp is wonderful as feisty Abby. Logan Miller's Martin is fairly irksome, but that works for his character. And both Jennifer Garner & Josh Duhamel brought a tear to my eyes in their monologue-with-their-son scenes; neither of which rival Michael Stuhlbarg's from Call Me By Your Name, however.
Now, 'Love, Simon' contains its share of emotional manipulation & some artificial plotting {the whole blackmail plot device - which takes up a brunt of the proceedings - felt phony & too manufactured}. Nothing about 'Love, Simon' is groundbreaking; unless you consider that its one of the 1st successful wide release gay teen flicks. The conflict in this film isn't AS dire as some other recent 'tortured homosexual' movies; here, our protagonist is most concerned with accepting himself. All said & done, the movie succeeds in providing wholly accessible characters, believable dialogue, humor, drama, smooth editing, some nice music cues, & offers a great depiction of the difficulties that closeted gay teens face -- even in today's more open-minded age. It's easy to root for Simon to overcome his adolescent issues, find true love & hope that when/if that happens ... his life will take a turn for the better.
The only person who does know is an anonymous gay classmate on the school's social media site. Simon obsesses about the identity of his new friend "Blue" as he starts to believe he's falling in love with this person; who has given him the confidence to accept who he really is. Matters get screwy for Simon when abrasive classmate, Martin (Logan Miller), comes across Blue & his email exchanges on a school computer. Wanting to date Abby, Martin blackmails Simon by saying he'll 'out him' if he doesn't help make Abby fall for him. Wanting to come out on his own terms, but still scared about how/when to do so, Simon reluctantly acquiesces to Martin's demands. This puts stress on him & his relationships with his friends & family, ALL while trying desperately to figure out Blue's identity to see if 'something is there'. Coming-of-age hijinks & sobering catharsis ensues.
'Love, Simon' avoids some darker themes & plot points while still being a fairly important film about teen homosexuality and the inherent drama that concerns it. Instead, it opts for being tender, charming, uplifting & more teen-friendly. That's not to say that it marginalizes the hardship of a teen coming out, but this isn't a downer. What this film mostly reminded me of - in a great way - is one of my favorite teen movies, 1998's Can't Hardly Wait; which didn't headline a gay character, but contained the same type of well worn teen dramedy tropes {a huge teen house party; someone making a big speech during a school football game; hanging out at the local diner, etc}. Both films are immensely likeable & winning.
Nick Robinson is as appealing & relatable as any protagonist in teen dramedies of its ilk. He's a good looking kid, exudes warmth, and yet, the screenplay doesn't cloak him in nobility, either. The things he does to protect his secret are kinda crappy and, when they come out (as they typically do in movie land), the consequences mount. Aside from Robinson, I really liked 13 Reasons Why's Katherine Langford as Simon's BFF, Leah; she sure has a handle on these troubled teen projects, haha. She's just a solid young actress and, her soul-revealing scene with Nick up in his bedroom really got me. Alexandra Shipp is wonderful as feisty Abby. Logan Miller's Martin is fairly irksome, but that works for his character. And both Jennifer Garner & Josh Duhamel brought a tear to my eyes in their monologue-with-their-son scenes; neither of which rival Michael Stuhlbarg's from Call Me By Your Name, however.
Now, 'Love, Simon' contains its share of emotional manipulation & some artificial plotting {the whole blackmail plot device - which takes up a brunt of the proceedings - felt phony & too manufactured}. Nothing about 'Love, Simon' is groundbreaking; unless you consider that its one of the 1st successful wide release gay teen flicks. The conflict in this film isn't AS dire as some other recent 'tortured homosexual' movies; here, our protagonist is most concerned with accepting himself. All said & done, the movie succeeds in providing wholly accessible characters, believable dialogue, humor, drama, smooth editing, some nice music cues, & offers a great depiction of the difficulties that closeted gay teens face -- even in today's more open-minded age. It's easy to root for Simon to overcome his adolescent issues, find true love & hope that when/if that happens ... his life will take a turn for the better.