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G’day everyone,
“Love, Simon” has a predictable coming-of-age plot. The story, however, is atypical.
Simon is the awkward, slightly geeky protagonist who spends most of his time hanging out with his three friends. They are his best friends, but the secret that Simon bears is his alone. Shame, fear, guilt, and the usual trove of emotions worry him. His secret becomes too heavy to endure alone, so he reaches out to a social-media entity who shares the same secret. The two build a semi-trusting relationship online. As the layers are peeled back, we learn that Simon is gay. His online friend admits to being gay as well.
A creepy geek discovers Simon’s secret while snooping through Simon’s email account.
This act introduces the first plot twist. The nosey geek, Martin, takes screenshots of all of Simon’s revealing emails. Then, he blackmails Simon by demanding that Simon helps him (Martin) hook up with one of Simon’s straight girlfriends. Martin uses the threat of posting Simon’s emails to the school’s blog site if Simon doesn’t comply.
Martin pushes the threat hard, and Simon begrudgingly helps Martin.
This is where the story began losing my interest. Simon could have beaten the snot out of Martin, stolen his phone, and deleted the screenshots off of it. Instead, Simon plods through Martin’s stream of demands. Doing so means that he also sabotages real relationships budding between his closest friends.
In the end, Martin “outs” Simon anyway, and the next several scenes show Simon dealing with the aftermath. He even loses his online gay friend for fear of also being outed.
I felt sorry for Simon, but didn’t feel his pain and anguish — Simon’s reactions seemed superficial and stereotypical. An aside, Simon’s relationship with his long-time best friend, a girl named Leah, is ruined as she admits she’s always loved and waited for Simon to return her love. This came across as an afterthought — as if stuck in to beef up the story’s depth.
As expected, everything works out in the end. Simon gets a boyfriend, he and his best pals get back together, and Martin strikes out with the girl of his dreams.
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“Love, Simon” was interesting and kept my attention. If you’ve seen the movie “Juno,” then you’ll recognize “Love, Simon’s” quirky version of reality. It is entertaining, though my main complaint is a lack of depth to the negativity expressed when Simon is outed. His reactions are blasé. For example, if I’d been Simon, I’d have exposed Martin’s plot to the school, dealt with the inevitable, and came out on my own. Sure, it wouldn’t have been much of a movie had it been written that way, and maybe that’s my point.
I don’t care about Simon being gay. That’s his business, and good for him. In the movie, Simon daydreams about what would happen if heterosexual people had to admit openly that they were just that. This scene was hilarious as a result, and it points to the absurdity demanded of homosexual people to “come out” or be outed. It's none of my business what two people do as long as its mutually consensual — none of my business.
I expected angst and social-class clashes, like the suppressed rages played out in the 80s “Breakfast Club.” Instead, we were treated to politically correct disappointment and a smarmy, rah-rah scene at the end.
“Juno” was a stronger movie for its more realistic playing out feelings.
In the end, I’d rate “Love, Simon” a 7 out of 10. It is worth seeing but move it half-way down your list. It’s entertaining, sometimes funny, often suspenseful, and it delivers a happy ending.
What did you think of the movie “Love, Simon”? Please share your comments and reviews below. I will delete offensive and hate-mongering troll-like comments. Don’t waste our time — after all, “Love, Simon” is just a movie, and this is just a review. Keep the discussions civil and on topic. Thanks!
Have a nice day.
RJ
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