Love, Simon (dir. Greg Berlanti)

June 26, 2015 seems like a millennium ago when all things considered. I’m of course referring to the landmark supreme court ruling, which established the basic human right, allowing gay-couples in all fifty states to rightfully marry. Fast forward a few years, and we have here another major movement in the development of gay rights - in the first studio-led gay romance, with a high-school teen on the brink of his awakening. But the most groundbreaking feat in Greg Berlanti’s John Hughes inflicted young-adult comedy is that it’s cultural progressiveness isn’t even the best thing about it - as this spellbinding and profoundly moving coming-of-age tale is as comedically astute and more down-to-earth than many of it’s comparable efforts.

Adapted from Becky Albertalli's best selling book “Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda” -which was seemingly too difficult of a title to transfer to the screen - "Love, Simon" is perhaps even more staggering given the genesis of it’s distribution: though it’s taken until 2018 for young audiences to finally see a gay romantic lead in an mainstream picture, it comes from the usually conservative Fox 2000 and Fox Searchlight - all the more surprising given their networks public celebrity concerning the advancement of gay rights.

But we digress over the more interesting elements of the film - so deftly and astutely is the storytelling and engaging and more provocative than should be expected. Our eponymous teen is played by Jurassic World star Nick Robinson; he’s your average high-school teen, recently bestowed a vehicle upon his seventeenth birthday which helps him pick up best buds Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr) , Abby (Alexandra Shipp) and Leah (Katherine Langford) on his way to school - before stopping off for a quick coffee break. Life at home is even better, with Mom Emily (Jennifer Garner) and Dad Jack (Josh Duhamel) with sister Nora (Talitha Eliana Bateman) creating perhaps the most liberal family in America - but Nick has a secret, and one that he hasn’t shared with anyone - he’s gay.

Until of course, a fellow student at his high-school anonymously comes out in the form of a blog post on the school’s social media platform: a self-referential plea to fellow students and faculty alike to help him through his adolescent burden. Nick quickly replies - they exchange emails back and forth - with Nick adopting the pseudonym "Jacques" as to protect his identity. But soon disaster strikes, as he haphazardly leaves his emails wide-open when using the computer at school, it falls prey to the perusing eyes of the local nerdy well theater geek Martin (Logan Miller) - who promptly blackmails him into ushering a dalliance between himself and Abby - with whom he has a crush.

It all sounds oddly underwhelming as a plot device - but here’s the thing: Berlanti’s direction is so fluid and effortless, it transcends the usual angst-ridden clichés of the over-saturated genre. Firstly, it’s helped tremendously by the encompassing feeling of warmth and charm which is undeniably restrained, and the product of a anarchic and witty script manifest itself in laugh-out-loud moments which are are original -reaching this feat on numerous occasions, as well. Credit to our director also - whose previous works have extended mostly to the TV screen - for keeping the drama together even when the characters motives stagger dangerously close to the unethical, as Berlanti’s drama never forgets it’s a story about the folly of young-love and doesn’t feel the need to remonstrate with the mistakes they make along the way.

In the lead role, Robinson is as charismatic and believable in a complex turn - though it must be added that his performance is anchored by the terrific ensemble cast. 13 Reasons Why star Katherine Langford is excellent as Nick’s uptight and repressed best friend, as is Spider-Man Homecoming star Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Though it must be said that comedic turns from Tony Hale as the phone-confiscating Vice-principal air slightly toward the tedious at times - as his laughably embarrassing antics range from the cringeworthy to the legally suspect -scene-stealing exchanges from fellow faculty member Mrs. Albright (Natasha Rothwell of TV’s INSECURE), as the musical director in charge of the school's car-crash performance of CABARET, are so perfectly pitched that almost everything she says garners a guffaw, or at least should do if you that emotionally engaged in the drama.

It’s likely to break the mould - both in the structure of marketing gay cinema and indeed in the teen high-school romance genre - and as far as the response can be gaged thus far, i’ll take my evidence from the screening I watched “Love, Simon” in, where similarly aged teens celebrated plot devices and cheered during moments of romantic affection -it's going to be a huge hit. Perhaps the product of the fandom surrounding the revered source material and an adaptation which tremendously breaks your heart while simultaneously opening your eyes to the modern world we live in, there's so much to love here.

When the final act arrives, there’s an abundance of ripe exchanges between characters - as betrayals and secret crushes are revealed - not least of which the real identity behind Simon’s secret internet pen-pall. Though it never veers of into mawkish sentimentality, and it’s greatest credit is that it’s underlying feeling of normality surrounding Simon’s journey can be related to by everyone.

Rating 4/5