Warning … low-key spoilers ahead!
“Sometimes, I feel like I’m stuck on a ferris wheel. One minute I’m on top of the world. Then the next I’m on rock bottom” – Love, Simon (2018).
I remember watching the trailer for this film over on Tumblr and at first glance, I thought this film was just going to be another young adult/teen rom-com … but I was mistaken. This film was bound to be different to any of the other films I’ve watched.
Love Simon is a movie about Simon Spier, a gay character who still hasn’t come out to his friends and family, but then befriends a boy who goes under the online name “Blue” who is also gay. While Simon tries to find out who this guy is, he is also trying to prevent his secret from being revealed by one of his classmates.
Based on Becky Albertalli’s book Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, this film is like many other young adult/teenage rom-coms. It has your usual diverse group of friends, the cliché of a loving family that we all wish we want to have, an antagonist whose motivations are normal but how takes action are really twisted. The driving factor of this film is that it’s now about a closeted gay character who provides insight into coming out – or why some people may not want to come out. They just may want to hold on to what they have always been, just a little longer.
Asides from the story of the film, I also enjoyed how two actors from Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why made it to the film, and their roles as the characters in the plot. Katherine Langford’s role as Leah is slightly similar to her character Hannah Baker in 13 Reasons Why, but yet with enough differences to not be typecast.
While Love, Simon is in some ways your typical cliché love story, it has its sufficient twists and turns to keep viewers interested. It is a good teen/young adult film and well worth watching. Love, Simon is currently showing in cinemas across Sydney.
Author: Erielle Sudario
