I’ll admit, I was a little nervous when I found out Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda was being adapted into a movie. The book is charming and feels very genuine, and it’s always possible for qualities like that to get lost in translation. But I was immediately charmed by Nick Robinson as Simon Spier, and ultimately charmed by Love, Simon itself.
The film, distributed by 20th Century Fox, certainly didn’t escape without any big-studio gloss. For example, everyone seems to be obscenely rich–when Abby (Alexandra Shipp) first came out of her house I thought it was the school. At times, too, the movie feels overly choreographed and a little stiff, especially during the first fifteen minutes or so. Soon, however, the movie shakes off these Hollywood trappings and settles into a genuine, funny, moving storyline with engaging characters.
Love, Simon, directed by Greg Berlanti, follows Simon Spier, who has a “totally normal” life except for one big secret: nobody knows he’s gay. He strikes up an email correspondence with an anonymous closeted gay kid from his school, and everything just kind of snowballs from there. The movie is about Simon coming to terms with coming out, and tells this story, a very rare one in Hollywood, in a way that feels authentic and true.
The movie gets a lot right about what it’s like to be a teen today. Simon’s bedroom walls are decorated with exactly the sort of paraphernalia you might find in my bedroom back home–photos and pins and Hogwarts gear (he’s a Hufflepuff) and even a Hamilton playbill. The scenes where Simon and his friends are in the car listening to the radio reminded me powerfully of high school, as did the high schoolers themselves. For the most part, their friendships feel earned and earnest rather than written.
As much as it gets right about being a teenager, the movie hits an absolute home run in portraying what it’s like to be queer in a world that assumes you’re straight. Scenes where someone thinks Simon likes girls or makes a joke about being gay hit particularly hard. And the way the movie treats his coming outs is incredibly well done; even the fact that they’re a plurality drives this home (because really, you never stop coming out). The reactions from Simon’s friends, teachers, parents, and peers are all different–sometimes casual, sometimes heartfelt or heartbreaking, occasionally cruel–but all of them feel true. These scenes, I think, will speak the most to the people who deserve them the most: young queer people like Simon.
Love, Simon is certainly not a perfect movie. And yes, it’s a funny, sweet, heartfelt film, but I don’t think it will win Oscars or become an instant classic. However, I feel that what matters most about this movie is not how it is: it’s what it means. Films are not just the sum of their parts; they are culture and representation and acceptance. They are signposts for what is desirable, expected, and accepted.
At the screening I attended, there was a huge banner where the kids seeing the movie wrote messages to the cast. I saw dozens of notes from LGBTQ+ kids who were just so happy there was finally a coming of age movie about them. They said they felt excited and proud. This movie treats being gay and coming out not as a spectacle or a curse, but as a normal part of growing up. Its big studio gloss might even serve to emphasize the essential message: being gay is absolutely normal, and simply being proud to be yourself is the bravest thing you can do.
Score: 3.5/5 stars
Make sure to check out our interview with the stars of Love, Simon, Nick Robinson and Alexandra Shipp!