Hey there, movie lovers!
I had the chance to catch a special screening of LOVE, SIMON last night with the niece and we absolutely loved it! We’d been looking forward to this movie since the trailer was first released and it definitely did not disappoint.
SYNOPSIS: Everyone deserves a great love story. But for seventeen-year old Simon Spier it’s a little more complicated: he’s yet to tell his family or friends he’s gay and he doesn’t actually know the identity of the anonymous classmate he’s fallen for online. Resolving both issues proves hilarious, terrifying and life-changing. Directed by Greg Berlanti (Dawson’s Creek, Brothers & Sisters), written by Isaac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger (This is Us), and based on Becky Albertalli’s acclaimed novel, LOVE, SIMON is a funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story about the thrilling ride of finding yourself and falling in love.
To start off, the cast in LOVE, SIMON was absolutely phenomenal. It was diverse, it was incredibly talented and every single person made you feel connected to their character in some way. You’re able to place yourself in each character’s shoes to try and imagine what they might have been feeling in that moment and how you would react, in your own life, to certain situations that presented themselves throughout the movie.
Nick Robinson (Everything, Everything) shines as Simon Spier. You can actually feel his anxiety about coming out to his friends and family and being so desperate to do it on his own terms. For those in the LGBTQ community, their coming out story is such a powerful moment in their life and having that moment forced upon them the way it was forced upon Simon in the movie was heartbreaking. As someone who is straight, but very much connected to members of the LGBTQ community, these moments in LOVE, SIMON actually made me cry a bit. Yes, I admit it. My niece and I were wiping away tears that never stopped flowing. It was sad, it was uplifting, it was triumphant, it was lovely and it was inspiring all rolled into one hour and 50 minutes.
I would love to read the novel “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli to see if we get a bit more of a backstory for Simon. When the movie begins, we’re thrust into his present day struggle with being gay and no one having a clue. We get a quick little glimpse of when he sort of realized when he was gay, but I would’ve liked to see that explained just a little more. Its absence doesn’t take away from the film at all though.
Both my niece and I highly recommend seeing LOVE, SIMON. It’s such an important message for those struggling with their own sexuality, for parents who are oblivious to how their children might be feeling, for friends to learn how to be accepting and supportive towards each other, for classmates to see how bullying and social media could really affect a person’s life. It touches on so many important topics for young adults. Some of the characters are flawed in their own way–some more than others–and that really contributes to the realistic feel to the entire movie.
It will make you laugh, cry and cheer for these characters and it will most definitely make you LOVE SIMON!
You can catch LOVE, SIMON in theaters March 16, 2018!
LOVE, SIMON Official Channels:
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According to Kristin 