Love, Simon: Film Review

I had a feeling Love, Simon would be up my street and I was right, but I loved it even more than I imagined I would, so be warned that this is a very gushing review.

Nick Robinson is Simon, a 17-year-old high school student with a big secret – he’s gay. An anonymous student named Blue confesses he’s gay on the school’s blog, Creek Secrets, and they strike up an online friendship, although neither of them knows who the other is. Things get more complicated when Martin (Logan Miller) finds the emails and threatens to expose Simon’s secret if he doesn’t help set him up with Abby (Alexandra Shipp), forcing Simon to mess with his friends’ feelings to keep it hidden.

I wasn’t sold on Robinson straight away but he won me over. He has such a loving family, with mum (Jennifer Garner), dad (Josh Duhamel) and sister Nora (Talitha Bateman), and a tight group of friends made up of Abby, Leah (Katherine Langford) and Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.). The cast brought their A-game, giving me all the feels. They are such a lovely bunch and it just proves that coming out is difficult even in those circumstances.

The script is funny yet smart, littered with pop culture references and doesn’t fall into the usual high school tropes and stereotypes. The supporting characters are well-rounded enough but Simon is obviously the one we care about the most, and watching him find love and acceptance was such a heartwarming and uplifting experience. This plays out exactly like a mainstream love story, and is refreshing to see a gay romance get that treatment.

I love teen/high school-based dramas, I always have, but Love, Simon really is a cut above the usual fare. It is funny, moving and important for gay kids out there to watch and see their struggle onscreen. It has so much heart and is so damn lovely that I had tears in my eyes twice and I came away with a heart fit to burst, a warm, fuzzy feeling inside and a smile on my face.

If that hasn’t convinced you enough then let me also add that there is a dream dance sequence soundtracked by Whitney Houston’s I Wanna Dance with Somebody and Garner gets an amazing emotional scene that proves why I still love her. She made me cry! Give that lady more work!

In cinemas from Friday 6th April