a LOVE, SIMON musing

Movies that I tend to love usually let me completely understand and relate to a character’s psyche, and LOVE, SIMON is another example of that. Directed by a TV mastermind, Greg Berlanti, who produces all the CW DC shows and Riverdale, SIMON is a touching 2018 time capsule about growing up and learning how to be yourself in this day and age.

I was expecting this movie to be extremely cheesy, but was happily surprised at how truthful the high schoolers’ behaviors were. It doesn’t exactly nail the high school aspects of it, but it gets close enough to make me see my group of friends and experiences in them. It’s hard to fully encapsulate the high school feel in a movie, and LADY BIRD and THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN are the closest that you can get to it. And who knows, maybe LOVE, SIMON does get it right for whatever being in high school in 2018 is like.

Simon discovers through an anonymous town secret blog that another person at his high school is also gay, and decides to reach out to him. Throughout the rest of the movie, there’s a whole bunch of stop and starts in regards as to who the actual “Blue” is. Simon also accidentally tears down his relationships with his best friends, as most of his actions can be seen as manipulative, only serving his motivation at the time. The script does a great job of making sure that we know Simon isn’t perfect and that it’s only him making it harder for himself in the end.

I didn’t think I’d end up crying as much as I did, but as I usually do with father-son stories and movies about growing up, I found myself wiping at my face a few times. There are a few subtle directorial choices that I low-key loved; i.e. the ordering of coffee. I can’t exactly put my finger on why I don’t 100% love the movie, but I can’t complain when a movie puts a smile on my face. LOVE, SIMON is a solid, uplifting tale that deserves to be seen.

RATING: PURCHASING FOR MY COLLECTION

(Refer to my rating system HERE!)