Love, Simon – a movie revolving around a high schooler’s love life, complicated by his sexuality which friends and family are largely unaware of, and his blossoming identity – is coming out on Friday, March 16. Whether you’ve been exposed to the hype around it or not, it’s worth all of it. Here’s why.
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It’s not predictable. You may see that this is a coming out story mixed with technology and high school, so you may think you know everything that’s going to happen. While the movie isn’t mind-boggling, it’s nowhere near boring nor predictable. It will introduce you to less common themes and surprise you from start to finish.
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Interesting plot. Coming out stories have many shapes, have many sizes. This one is its own brought to life especially by the quirks of the characters. The movie is also not solely about coming out, so while it maintains its focus, it has mini-diversions that add additional flavor. At the same time, it follows a similar module to other high school movies where there are terrible, traumatic bullies, so there is some stuff to be expected.
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It’s not typical. Certain people are often given certain roles in movies, but this is less true in this movie. Although the lead is a white male hailing from a TV-typical family, there is noticeable, praise-worthy ethnic diversity in the casting. However, the movie gives typical movie stories to certain characters. For example, the black girl comes from a broken home. And, the movie does a decent job at giving characters unexpected roles, which I cannot fully disclose without spoilers.
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It’s funny. It’s not technically a comedy, but there are still great laughs in this movie. Think about it. Simon has a little sister and two quirky parents. This movie takes place in high school. There are often scenes that display Simon’s frustrations or hilarious thoughts. You’ll laugh.
It makes you feel some type of way. This movie will tug at your heartstrings and provoke some sorts of emotional response(s) one way or the other. Whether you empathize with Simon, his little sister, any of his friends, his parents, or even the principal (somehow), you will empathize with some characters, which will foster that emotional response. There are likely scenes that will especially move you, but I cannot give any spoilers. All I can say is trust me.