Like, Simon

Love, Simon was sort of basic. It has a hip soundtrack, but it settles for most of the usual tropes and it is never really interesting as a film.

Worse yet, it doesn't really have any intriguing characters. Everyone here is attractive and charming, but other recent high school movies like The Edge of Seventeen, Closet Monster, and even Handsome Devil have much more interesting characterization than Love, Simon does. These guys are all just so bland.

To be fair, this film does have a couple really great scenes. There is one where Simon comes out to his friend in a car – this is a really moving sequence. And, of course, the scenes with Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel are all great. Especially their two (solo) post-coming out scenes with Simon. In another very good scene, Simon yells at the young man who has outed him, telling him that when to come out should have been his choice (this is something out gay people seem to forget about people who are not out – I find myself really tired of gay folks telling famous gay actors and musicians that they need to come out).

Still, I wish this film had been more of a film.
And I wish it had been gayer.
And I wish there had been more Joey Pollari.