was it good? love, simon
by kayla dawkins
The new movie every teenager is talking about is Love, Simon. Originally a book, Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon tells the story of Simon Spier, a normal teenage boy who loves his family and has one secret: he’s gay.
Things go awry due to some emails being seen by an uncertain someone, and Simon must face his friends and family with his secret.
Now, I have read the book and was looking forward to the movie coming out. I have seen the movie twice now and I have to say, it’s an amazing film. I agree with many critics, this is a modern day John Hughes movie. The theme was amazing, the story was the perfect mixture of funny, sadness, and seriousness. The actors did a great job portraying the characters and giving that awkward teenage vibe.
Now there are going to be a few spoilers, so if you have not seen the movie and you want to, you might just want to advert your eyes towards the bottom of the article.
There were times in the movie were it felt a little slow, like in a scene with Martin, Abby, and Simon were in a diner going over lines. Some of the lines could have been cut out to move the scene a bit quicker and keep the audience engaged.
There were also times where I felt like the scene should have been slowed down, like when Simon coming out to his friends and family. I felt like the emotions were missing because these scenes were a little sped up. I wanted to see Simon shaking when he told Abby. I wanted to hear the conversation between him and his sister, Nora, and hear her support of him. I felt like they should have taken more time to get those feelings in there, instead of dragging out scenes like Simon and his dad going over the video for his mom.
Now, there are quite a few scenes that did have tears forming in my eyes. My favorite one is when after Martin outed Simon and a couple of students decided to make fun of him. Martin tries to apologize to Simon, but Simon refuses. He tells Martin that coming out is his thing, he gets to decide how, when, and who gets to know. You can hear and see Simon falling apart. You can see the damage that was done. Another great scene was Simon’s parents talking to him. His mom tells him, “I could feel you holding your breath.” She shows her sympathy and gives her love to her son and lets him be himself. The scene with his dad is even more heartbreaking with his dad apologizing for any comments he had made that might have been taken as offensive. He gives his support as well and the two share a hug that you can’t help but cry to. It does end with humor with his dad saying that they can both sign up of Grindr, which he thinks is Facebook for gay people.
Besides the scenes, the acting was also amazing and a little awkward, perfect for the high school setting. There were times where I was cringing because of the actions that were being made, but all I could think about was that’s exactly what high school is. Cringy. Even though the actors were beyond their teenage years, they acted like eighteen year olds and definitely gave that teenage vibe.
I also love the fact that Simon comes from a normal family. It’s not very common for the lead role to come from a family like that.
Overall, this movie is amazing and sends a positive message. I have read the comments left by others on the Twitter page and they are so sad and tear-jerking. One said that she came out to her mom a while back and wasn’t accepted by her. They went to see Love, Simon and her mom leaned over and apologized, saying she felt bad that she never got that acceptance when she came out. Another comment was someone who was watching the film and they couldn’t help but smile when all the LGBTQ people in the audience cheered when the two boys kissed at the end (if you want to know who the two boys were, watch the film). Nick Robinson’s, the actor who plays Simon, brother came out during the filming of this movie and this movie helped Nick talk to his brother. This movie has helped many people come out and has helped others accept.
I give Love, Simon a 10/10.
Things go awry due to some emails being seen by an uncertain someone, and Simon must face his friends and family with his secret.
Now, I have read the book and was looking forward to the movie coming out. I have seen the movie twice now and I have to say, it’s an amazing film. I agree with many critics, this is a modern day John Hughes movie. The theme was amazing, the story was the perfect mixture of funny, sadness, and seriousness. The actors did a great job portraying the characters and giving that awkward teenage vibe.
Now there are going to be a few spoilers, so if you have not seen the movie and you want to, you might just want to advert your eyes towards the bottom of the article.
There were times in the movie were it felt a little slow, like in a scene with Martin, Abby, and Simon were in a diner going over lines. Some of the lines could have been cut out to move the scene a bit quicker and keep the audience engaged.
There were also times where I felt like the scene should have been slowed down, like when Simon coming out to his friends and family. I felt like the emotions were missing because these scenes were a little sped up. I wanted to see Simon shaking when he told Abby. I wanted to hear the conversation between him and his sister, Nora, and hear her support of him. I felt like they should have taken more time to get those feelings in there, instead of dragging out scenes like Simon and his dad going over the video for his mom.
Now, there are quite a few scenes that did have tears forming in my eyes. My favorite one is when after Martin outed Simon and a couple of students decided to make fun of him. Martin tries to apologize to Simon, but Simon refuses. He tells Martin that coming out is his thing, he gets to decide how, when, and who gets to know. You can hear and see Simon falling apart. You can see the damage that was done. Another great scene was Simon’s parents talking to him. His mom tells him, “I could feel you holding your breath.” She shows her sympathy and gives her love to her son and lets him be himself. The scene with his dad is even more heartbreaking with his dad apologizing for any comments he had made that might have been taken as offensive. He gives his support as well and the two share a hug that you can’t help but cry to. It does end with humor with his dad saying that they can both sign up of Grindr, which he thinks is Facebook for gay people.
Besides the scenes, the acting was also amazing and a little awkward, perfect for the high school setting. There were times where I was cringing because of the actions that were being made, but all I could think about was that’s exactly what high school is. Cringy. Even though the actors were beyond their teenage years, they acted like eighteen year olds and definitely gave that teenage vibe.
I also love the fact that Simon comes from a normal family. It’s not very common for the lead role to come from a family like that.
Overall, this movie is amazing and sends a positive message. I have read the comments left by others on the Twitter page and they are so sad and tear-jerking. One said that she came out to her mom a while back and wasn’t accepted by her. They went to see Love, Simon and her mom leaned over and apologized, saying she felt bad that she never got that acceptance when she came out. Another comment was someone who was watching the film and they couldn’t help but smile when all the LGBTQ people in the audience cheered when the two boys kissed at the end (if you want to know who the two boys were, watch the film). Nick Robinson’s, the actor who plays Simon, brother came out during the filming of this movie and this movie helped Nick talk to his brother. This movie has helped many people come out and has helped others accept.
I give Love, Simon a 10/10.