Director: Greg Berlanti Studio: 20th Century Fox Genre(s): Drama/Comedy Rated: PG-13 (For thematic elements, sexual references, language and teen partying) |
Cinema has come such a long way in how it portrays gay
teenagers, that maybe one day it will finally deliver that iconic teen comedy
on the same level of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” For many “Love, Simon” may be that movie, but
I feel the subject matter has just a little further to go. For better or for worse, movies with gay
protagonists are usually about being gay and finding true love. While the movie is cute and fun in so many
ways, it ultimately is predictable in how it plays about because there is a
need to remind the audience that Simon is secretly gay and that there is
nothing wrong with that. This is a
sentiment that is shared more and more as the years go on. It is not a view I share (if I’m being
completely honest), but that doesn’t mean I am not interested in the subject if
it results in good movies like this one.
For in “Love, Simon” we follow the title character (played
by Nick Robinson) in his junior year at high school. He brags about the cool friends he has, his
ideal family, and the fact that he likes Oreo cookies. However, he is secretly gay, and is doing his
best to keep that hidden. He isn’t
completely sure why he doesn’t want to come out (he certainly lives in a time that
is much more forgiving about this than others), it’s just something he doesn’t
want. He even debates if this is fair,
because if straight people don’t have to come out as heterosexual, then why
does he need to come out at all? This
does lead to him feeling disconnected from the rest of the world, and thus, he
finds some solace by confiding his insecurities with an anonymous stranger over
a message board. You know…let’s pause
and take note that at one point talking with strangers over the internet was
highly discouraged in the media, yet now it is considered cute.
I don’t know why but considering how the internet brings out
creeps in droves, this is probably something we should still be
discouraging. Sorry, lost my train of
thought, where was I? Oh yes, “Love,
Simon.” Anyway, even though message
board conversations are more worrisome in real life, it does give the
protagonist a good excuse to narrate key details about his life. That security is compromised when another
student discovers the messaging and uses images of said conversations as a way
to blackmail him for information about another girl at school…it just dawns on
me that parents may be wanting to have the “stranger danger” conversation after
reading that sentence, but rest assured that this is pretty innocent in the
movie itself (the blackmailer simply wants a girl to be his girlfriend, and
uses Simon as an unwilling Cupid). In
fact, most of the movie is pretty innocent.
Simon is just a typical guy who wants to hang out with his friends and
find true love.
Most of the scenes are funny because it shows characters who
feel authentic and are doing everyday things in quirky ways. It is a well made teen comedy. It is more impressive later when - and I am
going to word this carefully as to not spoil too much – it is discovered that for
all the liberal kids who attend school, they aren’t as tolerant as they claim
to be. The most important message to
take from this movie is that no matter how far we’ve come, there is still hate
in the world, and so long as that hate exists, people like Simon will always be
living in fear for how people will treat them.
This is what leads the movie to be uplifting and predictable at the same
time. For as far as society has come in
their acceptance of gay people, it is a little frustrating to see movies about
gay people just being gay.
I’m sure most people will agree with me that while there is
nothing wrong with this, hopefully we’ll get to a point where a gay character
can be the star of a comedy without their sexuality being the central
focus. I would personally love to see a
high school comedy where the main character is taking a day off school, having
fun, and, yes, he’s gay. But him being
gay is not the end result, it just is what it is. Still, if we must endure this same storyline repeatedly,
at least movies like “Love, Simon” can show us how sweet and funny the
situation can be, so that we are enjoying the journey we’re on (until more
substantial offerings are given to us).
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| CONSUMER ADVICE |
Parents, there is one use of the f-word as well as some other minor curse words, but almost no sexual content and no violence. Recommended for ages 13 and up.
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