Directed by Greg Berlanti
Where & When: Arclight Cinemas, Hollywood, CA. March 18, 2018 6:00 PM
After seeing "Love, Simon", Greg Berlanti's groundbreaking yet modest romance involving a closeted gay teen struggling to find a way to tell his friends and family while pursuing an unknown fellow gay student online, I definitely left with mixed emotions. On one hand, I really admire this heartfelt, coming-of-age story for addressing (a first by a major studio) the oft-told difficulties of being a teenager but refreshingly seen through the eyes of a young gay teen. Yet much like how I feel about "A Wrinkle in Time", Ava DuVernay's trailblazing, multi-cultural, sci-fi adventure, I appreciate the film more than I actually liked it. Sensitive and syrupy sweet, "Love, Simon" is a well-intended, love story that never offers enough unexpected or inspired moments to get your heart really pumping.
Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) is a high school student with two loving parents (Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel), a sweet younger sister (Talitha Bateman) who dreams of becoming a chef and three close friends; Leah (Katherine Langford), Abby (Alexandra Shipp) and Nick (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.). His life doesn't appear to be too complicated but Simon has a secret; he plays for the "other team". Unable to find the nerve to confess this to anyone, Simon is left frustrated.
Simon soon realizes he's not alone when a fellow student posts anonymously under the name "Blue" that he's secretly gay which causes a stir at the school. Desperate to communicate with him, Simon sends an e-mail under the name "Jacques" with the hope he will respond. And "Blue" does. This leads to the two sharing their intimate feelings and concerns about being gay. "Jacques" wants to meet "Blue" but this mystery man is not ready to reveal himself. Simon decides to play detective to figure out which student is his online pen-pal but doesn't have much luck.
Martin (Logan Miller), an annoying nerd, discovers the e-mails that Simon accidentally left open at the school's computer and uses them to his advantage. He likes Simon's friend, Abby but she's not interested in him. Martin convinces "Jacques" to help him win her over or the whole school will learn that there's another student who is gay.
Mr. Berlanti began his career writing and directing the 2000 indie film, "The Broken Hearts Club", a romantic-comedy about a group of gay friends that was inspired by his own friendships but it was television where he found his biggest success. He was behind the creation of popular shows like "Dawson's Creek", "Everwood", "Riverdale" and the DC Comics series, "Arrow", "Supergirl" and "The Flash". Adapted from the YA novel, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" (a far more interesting title but understand why they didn't use it) by Becky Albertalli, "Love, Simon" follows the same warm, feel-good formula that has served him well with his youth-oriented programming. Yet Berlanti's style of heavy-handed melodrama, soap-opera clichés and cheesy sentimentality may not be everyone's cup of tea while the comedy in this romantic-comedy is of the sitcom-based variety.
There is no denying that coming out is still a difficult and challenging process for anyone who might be gay. But the major flaw with the film is that all of the important people in Simon's life do not for any moment appear like they would be anything less than supportive of him. All of his extreme distress over keeping his secret to the point of allowing himself to be blackmailed seems implausible. I realize we wouldn't have much of a story without this plot development yet this would be more understandable set in the 1950's. Not at all in 2018.
And it’s not like Simon was the only gay kid at school. There is Ethan (Clark Moore), an out and proud effeminate student he could have easily befriended. But Simon steered clear of him, fearful that any association could reveal his true nature. Although his coming-out made him an easy target for bullies, Ethan bravely handled any nasty comment from them with a sassy comeback.
That Simon is a complete cipher, with his every action motivated by fear, makes it very difficult to root for our apparent hero. And Mr. Robinson's colorless performance doesn't help make Simon more appealing. It's up to the supporting characters to draw out the emotions needed here and that includes nice turns by Tony Hale as a trying-to-hard-to-be-hip vice-principal and Natasha Rothwell as the hilariously exasperated drama teacher.
I must admit that there were touching moments in "Love, Simon" that moved me to tears along with the other times that had me rolling my eyes and groaning. The goal of Mr. Berlanti's film was not to titillate, offend or make any type of political statement. He simply wanted to make a breezy, romantic-comedy on a subject that has rarely been touched in cinema that anyone could understand and enjoy. I wish there was a film like this at a time when I was a confused, young man in search of guidance and acceptance. "Love, Simon" offers a comforting voice for the culturally marginalized.
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