Love, Simon
Film
Review by Kam Williams
Gay
Teen Cruelly Forced Out of the Closet in Heartwarming Coming-of-Age
Dramedy
Simon
Spier (Nick Robinson) would tell you
himself that he's your typical teen except for the fact that he's
hiding one huge secret. He's gay, but hasn't told either his parents
(Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner) or his friends. He's even dated a
cute, female classmate (Cassady McClincy) at Creekwood High to keep
up the charade.
After
all, he's well aware of the merciless teasing waiting for anybody
brave enough to come out of the closet. That was the fate of Ethan
(Clark Moore), a kid who's been bullied at the school ever since
revealing his sexual orientation.
Simon
maintains his sanity by anonymously visiting an LGBTQ-friendly blog
where he's bonded with another gay student from Creekwood. First,
they just serve as support for each other. However, over time their
friendship blossoms into love. Trouble is, they're both using
pseudonyms, and Simon has no idea who "Blue" is because the
object of his affection is understandably hesitant to share his true
identity.
The
plot thickens the day Simon gets up from a school computer without
closing out the website. The next user (Logan Miller) figures out
that he's gay, and starts threatening to out him.
Initially,
Simon tries to meet the blackmailer's demands, since he'd prefer to
come out of the closet on his own terms. But
that proves impossible when Martin the creep turns his world
upside-down by spilling the beans to the entire student body.
That
is the vulnerable protagonist's awkward predicament in Love,
Simon, the best gay-themed movie since Call Me by Your Name
which just won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay. This
relatively-light adventure is also based on a novel, "Simon vs.
the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli.
The
picture was directed by Greg Nerlanti (Life as We Know It), who
handles the delicate subjective matter oh so sensitively and
sensibly. If this heartwarming teen-oriented bildungsroman is any
indication of how Hollywood plans to handle homosexuality in the
future, the culture has truly turned a corner in terms of teaching
tolerance of gays.
Rated PG-13 for profanity, underage drinking, sexuality and mature themes
Running time: 109 minutes
Production Studios: Fox 2000 Pictures / Temple Hill Entertainment / Twisted Media / New Leaf Literary & Media
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
To see a trailer for Love, Simon, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E0cbWdlQg_8
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