Love, Simon Review

Dear Reader,

Though Regina George, Cher Horowitz and Kat Stratford from “Mean Girls,” “Clueless” and “10 Things I Hate About You” all have a special place in my heart, their shallow, romantic comedy plotlines are so 2005. The big screen film “Love, Simon” has finally given me a modernized plot line of a closeted gay teen’s journey to coming out, and an emotional story of acceptance.

“Love, Simon” follows the life of 17-year-old Simon Spier, played by my number one celebrity crush from “Everything, Everything,” Nick Robinson. The movie is centered around his life filled with musical rehearsals, his sister’s culinary creations, the strict no-phones-in-the-hall policy at school and a huge secret: he’s gay.

Simon’s secret is threatened to be released when another student finds romantic emails he’d exchanged with a fellow closeted gay kid at school, only known by the alias “Blue.” After being figuratively shoved out of the closet, Simon is forced to rediscover his “normal” life, which he describes as, “drinking too much iced coffee with his friends and gorging on carbs at Waffle House.” His “normal” life is disrupted by comments like, “Did you date me because I look like a boy?”

Unlike the other popular teenage flicks I’ve seen, such as “’The Perks of Being a Wallflower’” and “GBF,” the gay character in “Love, Simon” is a normal person with quirks and interests, not just the “gay best friend.” I appreciate that instead of regurgitating the same boy-likes-girl romance, “Love, Simon” tells a slightly more complicated story of fearing acceptance for being yourself while discovering a first love.

I purchased my ticket for “Love, Simon” expecting an uplifting story about romance and an opportunity to stare into Nick Robinson’s eyes for an hour and 50 minutes. From my middle-row seat at the Glenwood Arts Theater, “Love, Simon” impacted me more than expected — I was more emotional than when I watched the series finale of “The Office.”

Throughout the entire movie, there were moments that made me laugh loud enough for the whole theatre to hear, such as when Simon awkwardly tries to tell the guy blowing leaves across the street that he likes his boots. The recurring graphic T-shirts one of the characters wore that said “Pug Life,” “I’m Kind of a Big Dill” and “Gopher It!” spoke to my love of cheesy puns.

On the opposite side of the emotional spectrum, my cheeks were wet with tears during the touching scene when Simon came out to his family. At that point in the movie, I was so attached to Nick Robinson’s family-loving and love-seeking character that I just wanted to jump into the screen and give him a long hug.

“Love, Simon” has all of the romance, emotion and relatability necessary to earn itself a place in my collection of classics. However, because of its portrayal of a gay teen as a relatable, normal high schooler, it sets itself apart from the rest. I hope that “Love, Simon” is one of the first of many to venture from the mainstream romantic comedy plotlines.

Love, Gabby.