Everyone Deserves a Great Love Story

Since the teaser came out in mid-2017, anticipation for the release of the film Love, Simon has been high. The excitement came mostly from LGBT+ teens and young adults, as it’s the first mainstream Teen Romantic Comedy with a gay lead character. The movie is based on the 2015 best-selling novel Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda, written by Becky Albertalli.

The film follows Simon Spier, a 17-year-old closeted gay teen, as he has a secret email romance with an anonymous, closeted classmate who goes by the name of Blue, while also keeping his own sexuality a secret from everyone else that he knows. As Simon is in the process of getting to know Blue and figure out exactly who he is using the small hints he gives in the emails, the emails are discovered by a classmate and he is blackmailed into either helping them or having his emails posted on the internet.

Fearful of the responses he would receive from his family and three best friends (Leah, Nick, and Abby) as well as his community, he chooses to help the classmate who is blackmailing him. The movie itself deals with the struggles of being closeted and the anxiety that comes with coming out and revealing that you’re something other than straight and is to loved ones.

Although the movie itself discusses some very serious topics that affect those in the LGBT+ community, it also has its lighthearted moments which is a relief for the audience and reminds them that it is a cheesy teen romantic comedy just like any other. On top of it all, it is very much a coming-of-age flick, showing some beautiful character development that Simon experiences throughout the movie. The people who surround him also grow along with him.

Overall, it was the corny, gay coming of age story that the LGBT+ community has needed to continue to normalize liking the same gender. It’s a movie that closeted LGBT+ teenagers could relate to that they’ve never had in theaters before. Hopefully, more movies featuring an LGBT+ lead character will spring up in theaters in the future.