Film review
A teen rom-com that ticks the boxes and a series that could hook you into a binge watch.
Love, Simon Starring Nick Robinson, Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner. Directed by Greg Berlanti.
I know what you’re thinking. Grumpy ole heart-of-stone reviewer Kate Rodger would NEVER give 4 stars for a teen rom-com, she HATES teen rom-coms. Well, isn’t life just full of happy little surprises?
Love, Simon uses all the common storytelling tropes of Hollywood romcoms, but in this instance the template adds, instead of detracts, from the delivery. Because this isn’t boy-meets-girl – this is boy-wants-to-meet-boy. And telling that story just like any other teen romance is what makes it just a little bit special.
The film comes from the 2015 coming-of -age novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and is helmed by Emmy-nominated director Greg Berlanti. He has cast his main roles well, very well when it comes to his lead.
Up and comer Nick Robinson (Jurassic World/Boardwalk Empire) is a total break-out as high school hottie Simon
Spier. Simon has a great group of mates, an impossibly cool family and to all intents and purposes, life is good. Apart from one thing; Simon is gay, and he simply doesn’t know how to tell the people he loves.
Events will unfold that force Simon to face all his fears, against the backdrop of all the other complexities of high school and with some refreshingly delivered twists and turns.
Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel make a convincing couple as Simon’s seemingly liberal parents, and the always hilarious Tony Hale of Veep fame chimes in with some well-timed oddball comedy.
But it’s the teenagers who anchor proceedings and they do so with restraint and heart. Simon’s posse of Leah
(Katherine Langford), Abby (Alexandra Shipp) and Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr) are a sum of their parts, with some perfectly cringe-worthy notes from Martin (Logan Miller), the guy who just wants in.
In my humble opinion and experience, today’s teens are far more evolved than we could have ever dreamed of being ourselves at that age, and the fact this movie exists may have little to no impact on the way they already see the world. But the fact this movie slots in so seamlessly alongside other teen screen offerings speaks volumes.
This is Simon’s story, and it’s one many can relate to, from gay teens, to the families of gay teens, to the friends of gay teens. But at its heart, it’s simply a story about love and tolerance and honesty, and told with a perfect dose of each of those things and, importantly, not at the expense of your IQ or your street cred. Which means it’s a story we can all relate to. I certainly did. In fact, there were a few tears, a tonne of LOLs and lots of second-guessing this entertainingly told love-treasure-hunt.
As a parent, the film gives me faith that maybe, just maybe, when we hand the reins over to the next generations, we might gift them a world that is a better place after all.