I am a person who does his best to keep up on current events, but politics and religion is not what our show is about. There are other podcasts out there that deal with those issues, but our cast does have a few off-air discussions of issues that we are passionate about while respecting each other’s opinions. This particular review deals with a “hot button” topic, but it is also more than that, so stay with me.
“Love, Simon” is the new film directed by Greg Berlanti (Political Animals, Life as We Know It) and stars Nick Robinson (Jurassic World, Being Charlie), Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why, The Misguided), Alexandra Shipp (Straight Outta Compton, X-Men: Apocalypse), Keiynan Lonsdale (Insurgent, The Finest Hours), Logan Miller (Before I Fall, +1), Josh Duhamel (Transformers, Safe Haven), Jennifer Gardner (Juno, Daredevil), Tabitha Eliana Bateman(Geostorm, The 5th Wave), Tony Hale (Stranger Than Fiction, The 15:17 to Paris), Jorge Lendeborg, Jr. (The Land, Brigsby Bear), and Natasha Rothwell (Insecure, The Characters). It centers around Simon (Robinson), a senior in high school who has a good family and has three best friends in Leah (Langford), Abby (Shipp), and Nick (Lendeborg, Jr.). However, he has a secret that he is afraid of in the fact that he is gay, and when an anonymous post on the school’s social website from someone named “Blue,” Simon reaches out to him under a pseudonym as they start their journey to coming out together. When a classmate named Martin (Miller) accidentally reads the e-mail conversation, a deal is made where Martin will not say anything about Simon’s secret only if Simon helps Martin get Abby to notice him.
“Love, Simon” shows suburbia and the typical American school well. There are a few dream sequences which fit the moods well to keep the story moving. When it comes to the acting, it is good overall, with Robinson portraying such an emotional issue nicely. The supporting cast of Burke, Shipp, and Lendeborg Jr. really do great as the best friend roles, enhancing the film and its storytelling. I have to give a shout out to Hale and Rothwell as the vice principal and drama teacher respectively, with Hale trying to be a “cool dude” who relates to the students and Rothwell adding a lot of comedy as her character tries to make lemonade out of lemons.
This film deals with a tough subject matter of not only teenagers and their relationships but also coming to grips with who one is with great comedy added to the right moments and in the right amount. Coming out (much less to one’s family) is a major life event for someone in that lifestyle and it hits the issue head on. In real life, it is not all roses, and there can be some major pain and negative issues; this film really deals with it in a very good light. I will say this film is not for everyone due to the storyline, but if you are or have a friend or family who is in the LGBT community, this is a must see. I really have no issues with this film and it delivers the message well, so I will give this film as the coveted full price in the theaters.