Bringing to life the Young Adult novel favorite, Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, and giving us faces to the characters we love, Love, Simon was a feel-good movie that was funny, dynamic and truthful.

It starts off with Simon, the protagonist, telling the audience, “I’m just like you.” Simon goes into talking about his family from his valedictorian mom, to his former jock dad, and his younger sister, who wants to become a famous chef, admitting that he likes and feels comfortable with them. Simon also shares insight on his friends: Leah, Nick, and the new girl, Abby. At the beginning of the movie, Leah tells Simon that on Creeksecrets, their school’s tumblr page, an anonymous boy has just announced that he’s gay, calling himself Blue. Simon emails Blue, saying the exact same thing he said in the opening voiceover, and admits that he is also gay, except he hasn’t told anyone. Simon and Blue begin emailing and confiding in each other, and it’s easy to see that they both feel like they’ve finally found someone who understands them. Then, a boy at school, Martin, discovers the emails and threatens to leak them to the entire school unless Simon helps him win over Abby, on whom Martin has a crush. What follows is a coming-of-age tale that I think, in some way, everyone connects with.

I was actually really impressed with this movie. Speaking as someone who has read the book, I believe the writers stayed pretty close to the original story, and kept most of the plot and characters. I liked that Love, Simon was romantic without being cliché. Simon is struggling with his identity, and he thinks that being himself will affect how his family and friends treat him. Many high schoolers face what Simon is facing – the struggle to define oneself. Besides the message of being yourself, and the romance, the story has a more subtle, yet important message: tolerance. Simon feared people would treat him differently when he came out, and he was right. When Simon is outed, two classmates bully him in a stunt which everyone in the cafeteria sees. Honestly, I hope I speak for everyone when I say that I think we’ve moved beyond homophobic stunts in the cafeteria. Simon’s friends and parents do not treat him differently, and just try to support him, and the movie has a happy ending. See the cause and effect?

My one complaint would be that the plot did not feel as realistic as it did in the book. I guess it is hard to believe in the blackmail part of the plot because I just do not see that happening in real life. It is also hard to believe Simon and Blue’s romance, just because it is hard to dramatize email over film. However, the movie has a humane, spirited air that makes it possible to look beyond plot holes.

I loved how Nick Robinson played Simon in a strong, truthful voice. Simon’s friends, antagonist, and lover are played by Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Logan Miller, and Keiynan Lonsdale providing lots of support and energy to the movie.

Also, the soundtrack is gorgeous. It’s on Spotify, and it’s safe to say that I’m obsessed.

This movie definitely specialized in romantic comedy. It was full of funny sequences with witty dialogue and truthful friendships. It does have some serious scenes, and the film does a good job of defining them. Funny is funny, and serious is serious, and there were definitely some scenes in the film that needed to only be serious, which is what made the movie work.

Overall, Love, Simon was a beautiful film with really important messages. I would recommend it to everyone who loved the book, of course, but even if you haven’t read the book, I think you’ll like this movie. It is definitely a feel-good.