by Joe Hammerschmidt
Most of us would know Greg Berlanti better from his maverick TV work, as a writer and producer with varying success, his gritty dramatic side. When you factor away from all the DC shows and everything else he touched for the small screen, that leaves a humble body of theatrical work. His next opportunity to direct allows the 43-year-old a chance to show his sensitive side through the eyes of a high school senior coming to terms with that special part of his identity, the side of himself reminding him “it is him.” Love, Simon is that chance, Berlanti rolls with the opportunity, delivering one emotional sucker punch, without sounding too schmaltzy the way most YA literature adaptations normally do.
Seattle-born Nick Robinson is our Simon Spier, a high school senior on the verge of graduating; the film pretty much follows the key events of a turbulent final year in public education. His closest friends, Leah (Katherine Langford) and Abby (Alexandra Shipp) have his back; and his parents, Jack (Josh Duhamel) and Emily (Jennifer Garner) are quite casual if not a trifle overbearing. He clearly wants to do right by them all, yet the one caveat he discovered in the last few years starts to weigh down on him during senior year: he is gay. His uncertain teenage fears are what stand in the way of his telling anyone, with the exception of an anonymous back and forth between another student on campus on the verge of coming out. As this unnamed character divulges to share on the school’s open community gossip page, Simon expresses his own feelings back to him. Part of the film is his discovery of the mystery man, his possible meant-to-be, of three likely classmates. That is when he’s not facing a string of blackmail incidents to keep his secret quiet, in exchange for relationship manipulation between Abby, and the nerdy Martin (Logan Miller), nearly tearing his friendships apart
The first thing one is sure to find with Simon’s journey is its potential realism. Coming out, in its most general sense, can be an experience of multiple emotional responses. Berlanti touches on every single one, Adapting from Becky Albertalli’s bestselling book, with a slightly more appropriate title, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, This is Us showrunners Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger forge a written word leaping off the page for its smartest impact, multiple scenes leaving just an insightful taste at each opportunity. Script may not be awards-worthy, though it can pull off a few lucky surprises all throughout the picture by slightly going off the mark. Tony Hale’s school principal stock character best represents this idea simply by reading the room, and seeking for his most awkward or embarrassing in front of the other students, while maintaining a firm authority figure status. His performance works here, knowing Mr. Hale’s own awkwardness with blending humorous and dramatic together.
As mentioned at the top, Duhamel and Garner make for rather overreaching parents, yet when they do care for their son, they’re the weighty backbone keeping this tale firmly grounded without running too far on fantasy. Most teen comedies normally would weigh heavier on the kids to establish a thematic tone, with the older authority figures as either an obstacle or distraction from their goals. Here, they still do; the imperative of adult support, all without sounding a little too mean-spirited or objectifiable maintains that distinction, that this film is something special, without relying on too much gimmickry. No quick-cut editing skill, or cinematographical wizardry, though the way John Guleserian (About Time) shot the film, that literary tone is properly emphasized.
Like Berlanti himself, whose only directing credit, 2010’s Life as We Know It dealt with a learning relationship (meaning they really needed to learn to accept each other on the spot), Nick Robinson in the title role, exudes the process of an actor still learning his craft, and also playing his strengths. All this in a film, like Life, shows building relationships, romantic or otherwise, that despite any accidental strife, can still save the day. Everyone probably still remembers Robinson better as the scared teenager in Jurassic World, but now portraying the hero of a classy, under the radar literary triumph, he now notches one more cross off a checklist any great young actor should carry with them in their period of discovery, which characters will cause them to improve their dramatis personae.
With all this said, Love, Simon may not be all that easy to recommend. It may be a movie for teenagers still trying to escape that closet they’ve built, whether they’re gay or straight, or anything else, there is always some piece of our identity left to remain locked for a long enough stretch until we address to ourselves, the time is now to say all we can, and hold nothing back. Simon can easily be a hero for all ages if we so choose. Berlanti and Robinson assure us, in an endearing fashion, with nothing short of a quizzical truth throughout, one that runs deep to a family always in one’s corner. If only coming out in the real world could be that fun, and rewarding. (B+)
Love, Simon is in most area theaters this weekend; rated PG-13 for thematic elements, sexual references, language and teen partying; 110 minutes.
