Love Simon is a 2018 Rom-com directed by Greg Berlanti and it is based on the Novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli.
The Plot follows Simon played by Nick Robinson who is a closeted gay, who falls in love with someone in his high school whom he chats with online, however the guy is anonymous and also a closeted gay, Simon must try to over come his fears and be proud of being gay as well as balancing freinds and family drama and all classic high school problems.
Love Simon may come across as a classic teen high school Rom-com, and some instances it has all the tropes of such genre, however i found this to be so much more than that. Love Simon strongest features are how it tackles the subject matter coupled with strong performances throughout the entire run time. Nick Robinson in particular is great as Simon. Robinson manages to balance the titular characters undeniable charisma and charm with his anxiety and self loathing in scenes where he has you chuckling, then the next scene blubbering like a baby as you can see Simon is trying so hard to pretend he is someone he is not. You also see a dramatic change in Simon’s character when he is talking to ‘Blue’ on his online pen pal. You feel like he is a completely different character compared to when he is with his friends and Robinson plays these parts flawlessly.
Everyone else in the movie is also awesome, Kathrine Langford,Alexandra Shipp and Keiynan Lonsdale are great as Simon friends Leah, Abby and Nick respectively they also play off their own characteristics and problems in a great way delivering hilarious and dramatic performances also,that might not quite top Robinson’s Simon but each have so much chemistry with one another paired with their talent, you forget you’re watching actors and not actual High School friends.
Jennifer Garner and Josh Dunhamel are also standouts in the movie as Simon’s mum and dad, their relationship with Simon is so beautiful and pulls on the heartstrings more than anything in this movie. There is one scene with each parent in particular that had me tearing up so much even upon multiple viewings. The acting from both parties of the scenes are some of the best and the scenes themselves could easily inspire anyone who is going through a similar situation to face their worries and realise there is nothing wrong with who they are and it’s actually quite phenomenal. Whether you see yourself in this situation or not I guarantee anyone who watched these scenes at least had a tear in their eye.
The films is also surprising beautiful to look at, yes it has the classic sheen of Hollywood’s interpretation of a high school, (it has the same sort of look that I can’t quite describe) as films such as Paper towns and Perks of Being a Wallflower and To All The Boys I Loved Before (which also has the same style of posters picture below)
Its weird i can’t explain it but watch the movies and you will know what i mean. But even though it isn’t a movie that changes the game when it comes to visuals, it’s still more than competently made and it’s an all round pretty to look at movie.
Final Score.
Title: Great
Love Simon may have some of the cliche’s of classic American Teen Rom-com’s. But all this can be easily overlooked as Love Simon delivers not only a great story and top notch performances it also has a beautiful message to everyone, no matter sexual orientation or other aspects of ‘difference’ to love yourself no matter what.
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