Went to a nearly packed showing of the new coming of age / teen comedy / coming out / romantic comedy Love, Simon today. For the record, based on a novel with a much better title which I have not read: Simon vs. The Homo-Sapiens Agenda. Probably not a title that’d get newcomers into theaters… and has the word “homo” in it even if it’s in the scientifically accurate way. And since the movie is somehow a low-key gay romance movie that tries hard to not “offend”, maybe that was strategic thinking?
But, yeah, this is a wide-release gay teen romance and that shouldn’t be big news. After all, there were two recent gay teen movies up for big Oscars over the past two years (Moonlight and Call Me By Your Name) but those were indies and definitely not mainstream movies. But then I get defensive and point out Kevin Klein AND Robin Williams starred in road, mainstream gay comedies before… In and Out and The Birdcage… but then I remember those were made in 1997 and 1996 so maybe there haven’t been too many in the past twenty years so its come back around to being unique.
I dunno… but I do know this is a teen comedy that’s targeted at a mainstream audience and it’s good. It’s cute. It’s reasonably funny. It’s both about being a closeted gay guy but also about just being a teen who doesn’t want to upend his life this close to college. The movie is a tame PG-13 and goes for just as much broad teen comedy as it does any kind of message.
What I appreciate the most about the flick is Simon, a closeted gay kid who the movie in no way, shape, or form “codes” as gay. You wouldn’t know it to look at him and that’s a version of “inclusiveness” you don’t see much in Hollywood movies. A non-fabulous, non-queen, non-affected, non-tragic gay character. Also not a gay character who is played for jokes or tragedy… just a kid who feels trapped in a lie but not in an overtly agonized way. In other words, a person.
I didn’t laugh hard in the movie but I chuckled often so that’s a win. The cast – Simon and his four friends – are super likable and charming. I’d have wanted a movie with them regardless of the subject matter. Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel play Simon’s supportive parents. If there’s a problem in the movie it’s the mechanics of part of the plot that feels a little too “movie” to me in a way that the rest of the movie does not. It’s a little artificial, involving a bit of blackmail, but it’s not deadly to the movie so it gets a pass.
So, yeah, this is a fun, cute movie and, based on the audience I was with, will work as a mainstream release. Certainly the gang of teen girls who were gushing about how cute it was certainly had no problem with it. I didn’t gush but it is a cute movie.
Score: 82