What is it with film titles and the world Love? People do know there’s other words that mean the same thing, right? Sure, most of them don’t really roll off the tongue. I can’t really imagine a film title with ‘Fondness’ or ‘Tenderness’ in the title, but you could use ‘Warmth’ in the title more. Here, I’ll make one for you right now, on the spot. ‘Her Warmth’. Boom, instant film title. I await my cliched title award by the Oscars. Thanks for the award, I’d like to thank my friends and family for getting me to this point. But anyway, I’m getting carried away with myself. I’ve not even mentioned the actual film yet, let alone the subject of the film, the cast of the film, or indeed, whether the film is actually any good. I should probably get to that.
Love, Simon is a rom-com based on the novel Simon and the Homosapiens Agenda. It’s about a man who – you won’t believe me when I say this – is called Simon. Simon, played here by Nick Robinson, is gay. He knows he’s gay. We, the viewer, know he’s gay. But his friends? Yeah, they don’t know. It’s about Simon finding the courage to tell his friends about his sexuality while still talking alone to a mysterious guy known as Blue (Spoilers here, he’s played by Keiynan Lonsdale). It’s a pretty simple concept, and one that is pretty unique, if only for the fact it’s one of the few mainstream gay romance films that actually exist. It’s remarkable how little these are made. One wonders why.
The cast of this is brilliant. Most of them are names I’ve never heard of before, but after this film, I’ll gladly watch any film that they happen to star in. Nick Robinson suits Simon to a tee, perfectly portraying the existential angst any overthinking teen would feel when they’ve got to come out to their family and friends. Katherine Langford plays Simon’s best friend, Leah Burke (who may be getting her own film based on HER book, so that’d be quite cool) and she, without going too deep into spoilers, has to adapt to the fact her best friend is gay. It’s a complicated affair for her. Alexandra Shipp and Jorge Lendeborg JR also star as Abby Suso and Abraham “Bram” Greenfeld respectively. They’ve got a cute romance subplot going on amongst everything else that happens in the film. Keiynan Lonsdale stars as Blue, the love interest of the piece. He’s as brilliant here as he is in any of his other roles (I’m thinking Wally West from The Flash and Legends Of Tomorrow in particular here).
Overall, Love Simon is an amazingly fun rom-com that finally brings the gay romance story into the mainstream, with a fun little twist. There’s not much more to say about the film. It looks great, feels great and has an energy to it that not many modern rom-com’s have. It’s definitely worth a watch for any rom-com lover (a section of film-lover I unashamedly consider myself part of). Check it out if you’ve got the time.
9/10
