You Really Can't Help But Just Love Simon
- Starring Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Langford and Tony Hale
- Rated PG-13
- Comedy, romance, drama
- Run time: 1 hr, 50 min
- Directed by Greg Berlanti
- In theaters March 16, 2018
There's something almost magical about the universal appeal of a coming-of-age story, but there's something even more amazing about it being told from a perspective that is not often explored. Love, Simon tells a tale worthy of comparison to a John Hughes flick combined with the more modern humor of an Easy A type teen movie. It runs the full spectrum of emotions and hits every single one with the perfect amount of heaviness.
Simon (Nick Robinson) is a high school guy dealing with the fact that he hasn't come out yet, to family or friends. He seems to be living the all-but-perfect life. Sure, there are the minor, first-world problems, but he loves the people around him and seems to be at least halfway decent at school and extracurricular activities. However, it's when he starts a rather unique relationship with an anonymous fellow student via email that his heart gets torn up a bit and he has to figure out just how to share who he really is.
While obviously not every member of the audience has gone through the same walk of life as Simon, there is so much of the story that is insanely easy to relate to. Whether it's the harshness and sometimes unintentional cruelty of high school students, the easy camaraderie of teenage best-friendships, the way a parent cares about a child they love or the way someone tries to figure out who they are while also trying to pass pre-calc, something all but has to resonate.
It's actually difficult to find things to criticize about Love, Simon. The message is lovely, the acting is extremely well done, the chemistry is believable, the characters are very likable (for the most part) and the script is wonderful. At first glance, almost two hours seems a bit long, but by the end, you find yourself just wishing you could spend even more time with Simon.