LOVE, SIMON – Review

Time to plunge into a movie genre that strikes fear in many a film goer (or it does so with me, I’ll admit). No, it’s not a horror, monster, or thriller flick, nor from the sub-genres like “torture porn” or the played out “found video footage”. Nope, this is an adaptation, or to be precise it’s based on a “young adult” novel, but (here’s the good news) it’s not from a series like “The Maze Runner” or “Divergent”. Whew, thank heaven for small favors. This one’s a coming of age story set in the lead character’s last months of high school, full of dreams and romantic entanglements. Hmmm, sounds a whole lot like last year’s critical darling, and Oscar shut-out (awww) LADY BIRD. Well, that’s where the similarities end. LB was set around 16 years ago, and it was a low-budget, non-studio independent flick (with Greta Gerwig writing and directing it practically screamed, “Indie!!”). The new movie is set in the here and now and is from a major studio, Fox (not Fox Searchlight, either). But the biggest difference in this week “newbie” is that it’s not just a “coming of age” tale, it’s also a “coming out” story.  Yes, it’s the first big studio gay teen romance, the affectionately tiled LOVE, SIMON.

The title refers to high school senior Simon Spier (Nick Robinson), a high school senior whose upper middle class family adores him. There’s his adorable kid sister, cooking whiz Nora (Talitha Eliana Bateman), doting psychologist mom Emily (Jennifer Garner) and goofy, loving but clueless pop Jack (Josh Duhamel). And he’s got a close circle of friends that adore him also. His school carpool consists of long time (maybe kindergarten) pal Leah (Katherine Langford), soccer-obsessed pal Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), and new transfer, the bubbly Abby (Alexandra Shipp). who’s the “apple’ of Nick’s eye. But Simon’s hiding a secret from all of them. He realized three or four years ago, that he’s gay. He’s decided to keep it under wraps and cruise through his senior year without a lot of drama. Speaking of drama, aside from attending Nick’s soccer games, he and Abby are in the big school musical of “Cabaret”, where they try to avoid the obnoxious Martin (Logan Miller), who has a big crush on Abby. All’s going smoothly until Leah, his constant texting pal, alerts him to a new post in the school’s social media blog site, “Creeksecrets”. An anonymous male student posted his gay confession. Simon’s intrigued and sends a response to the poster with the handle “Blue” under the name “Jacques”. Their online conversations become an obsession for Simon, so much that Principal Worth (Tony Hale) catches him texting in the school hallway and confiscates his phone. But Simon can’t wait to retrieve it at the end of the day, so he logs on to one of the library’s computers. Unfortunately, he forgets to log off, and the next user can access his very private emails with the “Blue”. And, wouldn’t you know, the next user is Martin, who takes screen shots of the messages. He strikes a deal with Simon: unless he helps with his pursuit of Abby, Martin will put those shots online. Talk about “a rock and a hard place”! Can Simon stave off Martin’s threats by playing cupid. More importantly can he continue with “Blue” and convince him to reveal his identity? Simon doesn’t want to hurt his family and friends while going after his big chance at romance.

The film rests on Robinson’s young but experienced (quite a feature resume) shoulders. He carries the weight with confidence (no wonder he’s the only face on most of the promotional art) giving us a hero we’re rooting for right from the start. He balances Simon’s sweet nature with just the right amount of snark, and, oddly, is a superb “straight man” for many of the more outlandish characters. Most importantly, he conveys that sense of longing, of hoping that the future will be brighter and better. Langford, as oldest pal Leah, has much of the same soulful longing in her gaze. Her desire is clearer to all but her heart’s target. The spark in their “click” is the energetic Shipp (Storm in the last X-Men movie), whose outgoing personality masks a difficult home life. Then there’s the more fervent of her two suitors, Martin played with total lack of inhibition by Logan Miller in a performance full of foolish bravado. Martin is truly “fingernails on a chalkboard”, maybe the most obnoxious villain (yes, despite some last scene remorse) in any recent teen comedy/drama. Perhaps it’s a testament to Logan’s skills that we yearn for his comeuppance. As for Simon’s folks, Garner is much the same sweet, nurturing matriarch we’ve seen in most of her recent run of films (I hope she cuts loose as a femme fatale soon). Now the really pleasant surprise is the warm, compassionate turn by action flick staple Duhamel as confused papa Jack. His realization that he may have unintentionally added to his son’s turmoil via his silly jokes may cause the most jaded film goer to tear up. Happily the school’s faculty includes two truly gifted comic talents. Hale is joyfully awkward as the school’s enforcer that tries too hard to keep up with the kid’s “lingo” while fighting a losing battle against tech (“life is happening beyond that tiny screen, yo!”). There’s that same exuberance in Natasha Rothwell as the bombastic drama coach Ms. Albright, the most frustrated arts advisor since Mel Blanc played Jack Benny’s apoplectic violin teacher (now there’s some ancient history). Her take down of two bullys in the cafeteria is a big highlight.

In his first feature film directing in eight years (hey, the guy’s been building the terrific DC superhero shows for the CW TV network, shows far more entertaining than most of the dismal DC movies) Greg Berlanti directs with a light touch, keeping the pace swift, while knowing when to slow down to give the drama the right impact. Sure the suburban backdrop is a little too pristine and antiseptic (no hint of drugs or violence here), seeming as though the Spier household may be right around the corner from most TV sitcom households with the most diverse high school body this side of SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING. But it’s forgiven, since the story is, at its core, a modern fairy tale, a good-natured fable that mashes-up CYRANO, EMMA, and bits of countless “rom-com” staples. And despite the marketing, the film never gets two cloying or precious, despite a couple of fantasy sequences (“what if straight kids had to come out to their folks” and Simon’s dream of rainbow-colored college life) that never overstay their “welcome”. And it’s refreshing to see kids and parents more tolerant and enlightened (perhaps truly “woke”), along with faculty that intervenes quickly (unlike last year’s similar MOONLIGHT). LOVE SIMON is an engaging antidote to these toxic times. If only all the young adult novel-based films could be as entertaining and kind.

4 Out of 5