Earlier this month I was lucky enough to catch an early
screening of the movie "Love, Simon" which is based on the amazing young adult
novel by Becky Albertalli "Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda" and, let me
tell you, this is the movie teen Crystal didn’t know she needed. Without giving
away too many plot details "Love, Simon" is the story of a young man coming to
terms with his homosexuality while balancing the struggles of his final year of
high school, with how to come out to his friends and family without losing his
identity.
I officially came out just over two years ago and last year
I had my first actual relationship with a girl, so I feel like I’m still new to
this whole queer thing; my one area of expertise, however, is teen romantic comedies,
and trust me, Love, Simon is up there with the best of them. I grew up on a
healthy diet of cheesy, amazingly delicious teen romances. I cheered on Drew
Barrymore as she waited for Mr. Coulson before the big game, I shipped
Zack Morris and Kelly Kapowski and I saw every Julia Stiles, Mandy Moore and
Kirsten Dunst movie. While I loved these romances and dreamed of my own happily
ever after, the one thing all these TV shows and movies had in common was that
they only depicted heterosexual love.
I grew up in the nineties when homosexuality was slowly
becoming more visible and openly discussed in movies and on television. This
was a big step, but queer characters were often limited to supporting roles whose
storylines existed only in relation to the main cast. Most television shows and
movies walked a fine line between discussing their gays while not showing them.
Queer characters were often the single sidekicks who complained about their
relationship hardships, but we seldom saw romantic interactions between same
sex partners. Friends, for example, featured a same-sex marriage between Ross’
ex-wife Carol and her partner Susan, yet the couple was not allowed to kiss
during the wedding ceremony. Dawson’s Creek took progression even further when
Jack kissed another man in the season 3 finale. I remember feeling the impact
of that moment, knowing that I was witnessing history, that this was the first
television show geared towards teenagers and aired during prime time to show a
man passionately and unapologetically kissing another man. That moment, and
every other moment involving Jack, was lessened by Pacey’s continual mocking of his brother,
Doug, for being gay. Being gay was still a punchline.
In recent years movies and television have really embraced
queer storylines, creating three dimensional characters who are larger than their
sexual identity. Television has done a better job of bringing these storylines
to mainstream audiences with shows like Pretty Little Liars which was geared
towards young women and featured actress Shay Mitchell who played lesbian Emily
Fields. That’s not to say that there haven’t been amazing queer romances in
film, they just tend to be independent, low-budget movies with limited releases
and small box office returns. Moonlight, which won the Oscar for Best Picture
last year, was phenomenal and Call Me by Your Name has literally changed the
way I look at life experiences, but both were geared towards a very specific
audience. The amazing thing with "Love, Simon" is that it is mainstream to its
very core; this a movie for everyone, whether you identify as LGBTQ+ or just
like romance movies.
This movie is diverse in a way that feels natural. It deals
with real life problems teens encounter and, as Simon narrates in the trailer,
it centres on the idea that everyone deserves a great love story. There is
cheesy dialogue, overly sympathetic parents, charming humour and over the top
romantic gestures that never happen in real life scored to pop ballads that
leave you discussing which songs will be featured on the soundtrack of your
life. The character of Simon and his friends Leah, Abby and Nick feel
relatable, they could be any teenager struggling their way through high school.
They are seldom without their cellphones, they post on social media, watch
reality television, struggle with identity and acceptance and unrequited love,
they’re just normal teenagers. This normalcy, this everyday-ness is what makes
"Love, Simon" so special.
Now I won’t pretend this is a perfect movie, there are
changes from the novel used to enhance the dramatic tension between the
characters and in the third act I feel as though Simon was abandoned by his friends
during a particularly difficult time. I am not necessarily angry at their
abandonment of Simon but more so that the movie doesn’t seem to address it,
there are no apologies or explanations, the characters simply move on to the
next challenge. But all things considered "Love, Simon" is the perfect movie for
anyone who loves heartfelt, teenage romances. It’s the movie we’ve seen
countless times that always makes us smile, that manages to make us forget our
own problems, that has us unabashedly rooting for love, only this time the universal
love story we’ve all gotten behind features two men and that is magical. I defy
anyone, regardless of your feelings, to watch this movie and not root for
Simon, because really what it all boils down to is that love, is love.
Love, Crystal
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