As the chords to “Love Me” by The 1975 blasted through the theater, I knew this was going to be a movie to remember.
“Love, Simon” is a coming-of-age story, based on the book “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli, focusing on Simon Spier in his last year of high school. He is just like everyone else, except for the fact that he is gay. As he anonymously corresponds with another closeted classmate, things start to get complicated.
This movie was the teenage story we have been waiting for. For once, there are young actors playing the roles instead of 30-year-olds acting like they are 10 years younger. It has its light moments, and it handles Spier’s coming out beautifully and acts as a guide for parents in the future.
“It was a really emotional showing for my theater,” senior Alyssa Schechtel said. “It was opening night, and everyone was crying.”
Representation in media is so important, and now LGBTQ+ teenagers can have a movie where the gay character is not only there to die a tragic death.
The only issue is how the movie handles the blackmailing incident. As you can see in the trailers, (this is not a spoiler; do not worry) Martin, a classmate of Simon, blackmails him into helping him get closer to Abby.
At the climax of the film, they do not give this the weight it deserves. This plot line drives much of the movie and the book on which it was based, and for it to be handled so casually without much closure was disappointing.
But, this can be ignored in the scheme of things, as the movie as a whole was amazing. Even the soundtrack had a purpose. With Jack Antonoff executive-producing the soundtrack, there was an upbeat and authentically teenage feel to the music.
“[Director Greg Berlanti] was just pulling up different scenes, and I was playing little ideas I had — maybe a chord progression or a beat or a concept — and they were working so well,” Antonoff said. “Right away I started to feel like I could really make sense of it.”
“Love, Simon” was a great film filled with life lessons and messages for the youth of today, and I recommend it to all audiences.