April
07
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Love, Simon (2018)
There are many ways to tell a story about a gay teenager’s coming out. Some will appeal across all age groups while others will have a more targeted demographic. The light-hearted rom-com Love, Simon (2018) is an example of the laser-like targeting of youth, which could leave some older audiences on the outside looking in.
The plot is simple and linear. Simon (Nick Robinson) is a good looking, well-adapted 17-year old white middle-class teenage boy, with perfect complexion, lots of great friends and a loving, supportive family. This, we are repeatedly told, is how ‘normal’ looks. But Simon is also secretly struggling with when and how to announce his gay sexuality to the world. The struggle, we are meant to imply, is abnormal and should not be happening in today’s world. A chance social-media post alerts him to another person in the same situation and ongoing anonymous messaging becomes the medium for an emerging romantic relationship. That is, until Simon’s privacy is stolen by the class clown who finds the messages and blackmails Simon. Of course, things do not go to plan and it all becomes a quagmire of broken relationships.
There have been many important gay-themed films in recent times, and the poignancy of Moonlight (2017)and the poetic beauty of Call Me by Your Name (2017) stand tall in the genre. Love, Simon, however, stands out for its Glee-style, middle-America, sugar-coated representation of gayness and the bothersome disruption to Simon’s coming-out experience. If Simon and his story are intended to represent the trauma of non-acceptance, fear, and prejudice experienced by many LGBTI people, it falls way short of the mark. His climactic ‘shout it from the top of a carnival wheel’ emancipation is a soapy and narrow portrait of such experiences, while his warm middle-class safety net ensures the soft landing not available to others.
Most astute movie-goers will recognise that hailing this film as a landmark effort because it features a gay protagonist is more than exaggeration. The comedy is superficial and its humour loaded with teenage code for sexual behaviour, but it barely raised chuckles at my cinema. Fortunately, the main cast comprises mostly charming and likeable young actors, who don’t even come close to showing R-rated content which ensures the film reaches the younger teenage demographic.
This is not to argue that the film is unimportant. Rather, it is an enjoyable, if lightweight, contribution to redressing the history of underrepresentation of gay issues in the young film market. Other films have done this with far greater impact, and the space is wide open for much more. Love, Simonis a small but positive step in the normalisation of gay representation across the full spectrum of film. It is also a missed opportunity to explore deeper perspectives on the emotional significance of coming out by young people.
Director: Greg Berlanti
Stars: Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel
CineMuseFilms 
I wasn’t exactly breaking my neck to see this as I had fears of it being outrageously sentimental. Nonetheless, I agreed to attend at the request of a friend and walked away from the cinema with a completely different mindset.
Actually, I found the film sweet natured and well intentioned. It represented the way I’d like life to be with all the nasty characters excised from the scene. Unrealistic? Sure, but a young target audience would probably find it positive and life affirming. It was well worth the price of admission and that’s taking into account the session available was in the more expensive lounge seating.
Thanks for your usual excellent review, CineMuse. My expectations were not high and I was pleasantly surprised. Not the calibre of ‘Moonlight’, but not at all bad.
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Your phrase “sweet natured and well intentioned” just about sums it up, thank you But for me, it is neither honest or penetrating. If all coming out experiences wre as “sweet natured” it would not have the trauma and even cost lives that it does for some. I saw it with my 21 year old daughter and 23 year old son; they loved it, so its a sucess.
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I’m not sure about the modern day experience. I suspect it’s a lot less fraught. The co-ed school attended by my kids (now in their thirties), was populated by students who were extremely liberal and supportive in their thinking. The scene on the Ferris wheel ‘rang true’.
I understand and agree with your thinking re the sanitised nature of the film; beautiful houses, wonderfully supportive families etc ad nausium, Stil…I tend to think it reflects modern day, youth sensibilities at least with respect to the girls.
PS I have a lot of trouble signing into your site. This is probably due to the fact I use multiple devices.
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I think the film depicts how coming out ought to be (minus the messy blackmail sub-plots), but my own kids assure me that, in real life, it is still a painful experience for many. I guess that is its main contribution. Not sure about the signing-in issue: with NBN drop-outs and slow-downs, the internet has not been the same. They call it progress.
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Woo, I remember this cute little number! I enjoyed this one, lighthearted and with a cast that’s easy on the eye. It reminded me of Never Been Kissed (a very old romcom which had been one of my fave films in my teens), especially the last scene when counting down for the big moment.
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