Love, Simon is a romantic comedy-drama directed by Greg Berlanti that is based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. The film stars Miles Heizer, Alexandra Shipp, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Katherine Langford, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel and Nick Robinson. The story of the film focuses on Simon (Nick Robinson), a closeted gay teenager who has to balance high school, friends, family, protecting his secret as well as trying to discover the identity of an anonymous classmate he has developed an online relationship with.

My Expectations For Love, Simon

We are almost halfway into 2018 and we have already had the pleasure of seeing some amazing films. Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ready Player One and Lady Bird are just a few of the films which, for me, rank amongst the best of the year so far. In fact, Lady Bird is one of the best coming-of-age films I have seen in recent years and Love, Simon looked like it could be on the same level of quality as Lady Bird. While Love, Simon is labelled as a rom-com, it had a lot of coming-of-age vibes from the trailers.

Indeed, a lot of comparisons have been made to John Hughes with this film which is a huge complement when you consider that John Hughes directed Planes, Trains and Automobiles, The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off which are all classics. I had high hopes for Love, Simon and I was expecting, at the very least, a heart-warming story that would entertain me from start to finish.

My Thoughts On Love, Simon

Love, Simon is really good. It is the most heartfelt film I have seen this year and a big reason why this was the case was because of the cast. The performances given by everyone in this film were great, especially from the young cast members whose chemistry was so natural that it felt like they had known each other forever.

The only thing I have seen in recent years that made me feel the exact same way when it came to young cast chemistry was the first season of 13 Reasons Why. It is therefore apt to see that stars of 13 Reasons Why such as Katherine Langford and Miles Heizer are also in Love, Simon. Additionally, this is the best thing I have ever seen Josh Duhamel in. He was fantastic in every scene he was in and he did a wonderful job playing Simon’s father, especially in the more serious, dramatic moments of the film.

Serious Subject Matter

Indeed, while Love, Simon has a lot of heart thanks to its young cast and humorous moments are aplenty, it is also a film that showcases some extremely important issues and themes and it does this with tenderness and care. This meant that the dramatic elements of the story were incredibly effective when they needed to be. All of the best coming-of-age films have a good balance of comedic and dramatic moments and Love, Simon is no exception.

Still, another thing which can also be expected to be found in any coming-of-age film is a couple of annoying characters who make for some cringe-worthy moments. The majority of these moments in Love, Simon happen in the first half of its running time and they did not bother me to a huge extent, especially as the humour in this film outweighed any scenes which were excruciating to get through.

Overall, Love, Simon is a film with a huge heart that will lift your spirits if you are feeling down and provide you with a great blend of comedic and dramatic beats. Moreover, the film uses the right type of music (I mean, you cannot go wrong with Bleachers) and I could absolutely see why so many had made comparisons to John Hughes with Love, Simon. It truly is a John Hughes type of film for a modern generation which is a wonderful thing.