All you “wild hearts” get ready to fall in love with the groundbreaking new romantic comedy, “Love, Simon.”
The film debuted in cinemas March 16 and has been extremely well received by audiences nationwide. “Love, Simon,” produced by a major film studio, makes history as the first film of its nature by depicting a gay love story at its forefront. Directed by Greg Berlanti, the film is based off the novel “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli.
The movie is led by actor Nick Robinson who plays Simon — a closeted high school senior. The movie starts off with Simon musing about his similarities with the audience, describing his relatively normal life. “I’m just like you, for the most part,” he says. After going on to describe his wonderful family and friends, Simon discloses his one secret: he’s gay. After finding a post from an anonymous person with the screen name “Blue,” who confesses that he is gay on their high school’s gossip Twitter, Simon contacts the individual and they begin a relationship via email. When this relationship and their secret is placed in jeopardy, Simon must come to terms with how he wants to handle his secret as he struggles to figure out who Blue truly is.
There are quite a few screen favorites in the film besides Robinson. Jennifer Garner plays Simon’s extremely liberal mother. At one point in the movie, Garner delivers a beautifully eloquent monologue, aiming for the hearts of moviegoers everywhere. Equally powerful is Josh Duhamel’s portrayal of Simon’s overemotional father. The connection between Duhamel and Robinson’s characters is a truly touching experience.
“Love, Simon” has a very natural script written by Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger. It illustrates the story of two love-struck high schoolers in such a realistic light while carefully and maturely dealing with the issue of coming out in an honest and authentic way. Throughout the film, audiences will experience a roller coaster of emotions — uproarious laughter, powerful tears and plenty of heartwarming moments. It is so refreshing and important that the world finally gets this kind of love story. Now, many people will not have to substitute genders in the process of relating to the main characters. Admittedly, it is incredibly frustrating that it has taken this long for a movie of this nature to come out. But the more we support this beautiful and impactful film, the more films of this nature will be produced.
Enough good things cannot be said about this revolutionary film. It is worth every penny. “Love, Simon” tells an important and heartfelt story with intense relevance and relatability in contemporary society. Like the movie’s tagline says, “Everyone deserves a great love story.”
