“Love, Simon” (2018) Did you like it?

No, I thought it was stupid.

Everything about this post is stupid. I had to click on it to see if it redeemed itself in anyway. It did not.

OP, you and the movie might be too wholesome for this den of vipers.

What kind of movie were Expecting from a TEEN flick? I feel like you all think cause there’s a gay character it’s porn. Wtf.

It’s about a teenager coming to terms with being gay.

This scene was beautiful

Jennifer Garner was so good in this scene. Such an honest scene.

It’s such a beautiful, perfect, idealized version of the teen gay experience, it’s almost too good to be true, considering how many kids don’t have it nearly that easy. Regardless, though, it made my heart burst with pride. I’m glad it exists, and it does nothing but good.

I know, “Mary!”

For the most part, I loved it, but I had the same problem with it as you did. That whole section of the movie I felt was so contrived. He would not have done that to his friends. He would have told douche boy to fuck right off, and said if you feel the need to tell everybody I'm gay, go to it.

paedo thread again

I would have enjoyed it better if they had found a better looking guy to play Simon’s boyfriend at the end.

I thought Simon looked disappointed at the end when he discovered that his secret pen pal turned out to be.... BLACK.

Unreal.

Of course they had to throw in all these females because God forbid you see a gay movie without a woman in it .

I think that gay people were better off living in the shadows...

I really liked it, very sweet. I’m out of the age range it’s intented for but I’m glad teenagers have it. Yes, idealized, but some movies are pleasures for showing you what is possible, as mundane as those possibilities are.

I thought it was Nuts.

If only my childhood had been as rosy as Simon's (rosebud).

That 13 Reasons... Girl was so annoying. A fatty too.

I wouldn’t say it was idealized. It was a pretty normal coming out story; mine was very similar down to the talk with my mom and my best female friend.

Being gay isn’t really a big deal anymore, so I thought the part that was outlandish was him going along with the blackmail and hurting his friends. I’m glad they found out and didn’t give him a free pass for his behavior.

The movie is very sweet though and functions as a gay clueless/legally blonde type film. It’s out as stylized, but it’s only meant as a good time.

It was cute enough but I didn't think Nick Robinson was convincing playing gay. There was just something missing from his performance. He played it way too 'bored, straight boy' IMO but maybe that's my age showing and young gay kids act that way now. But come on, that Whitney Houston gay fantasy sequence could have been a showstopper but he looked like he could barely be bothered to half ass his "dance" moves. (Though once they realized he couldn't dance for shit they should have just scrapped that scene.)

You make a good point about that plot point, OP. I also couldn't believe the Simon character could be so dense that he didn't realize his best friend was in love with him.

Smh @ OP's Smh. LOL.

[quote]But come on, that Whitney Houston gay fantasy sequence could have been a showstopper but he looked like he could barely be bothered to half ass his "dance" moves. (Though once they realized he couldn't dance for shit they should have just scrapped that scene.)

Yeah, I agree, it was a fantasy scene about how happy he would be out and proud. He should have had sheer bliss on his face and lost all inhibitions.

They cut out Jennifer Garner's best scene. It's on the DVD, she could have gathered some acclaim, at least an Independent Spirit Award nomination.

Not at gunpoint would I see this movie.

Nick Robinson is a very stiff and limited actor. I still hate that they cast him in the first place. I’ve seen him in a few things and he’s always stiff with the same facial expression, even Jurassic World, although it worked there.

R10 I personally think the Bi-racial guy they cast was cute, and a lot cuter than the 3rd kid he thought was Blue.

R11 he didn’t look disappointed at all. He even flirted with the idea of him being Blue earlier in the film. Not everyone’s a racist like YOU, especially not someone whose best friend was a mixed black guy since he was pretty much a baby (and Leah also, of course). Abby came later.

R7: Yes, there are a lot of teens who have a way more difficult experience, but not all gay teens are bullied or rejected by friends. The film is more about his internal struggle than anything else. And it's good that there's a YA novel or teen movie that it's not an over the top drama

I know people whose friends and parents were super accepting when they came out. It was lovely when they told me.

Simon is that. The film focuses more about him coming to terms with being gay than the people around him being ok with it.

Of course there will be many people in his life who don’t like that he’s gay, but in today’s day most of them will never let him know that. That’s something so many gays don’t realize, you would be shocked how many people smile in your face but hate gays.

Not enough anal sex.

Being that Simon was closeted and didn’t even have his first kiss with a guy until the end of the movie I wouldn’t expect anal sex.

Would have been better if he showered with his dad and asked about how prostates work

His parents and friends acceptance helped him overcome his internal fear and conflict. The movie made clear that his actions to conceal the truth about his sexuality created the real problems.

I thought it was cool that celebs bought out some showings and gave out free tickets to promote the movie. I guess they liked it.

I thought it was contrived from the get go. Really disappointed with it. So many great coming out movies but this one didn't do it for me.

The lead lacked charisma and was unconvincing

It was sweet but remarkably sexless for a movie about a gay teen. It’s fine that he was a virgin, but even the talk was just so 1950s sitcom. Also, Nick Robinson is cute but bland.

Well, it was the first teen movie from a big studio with a gay male main character, so i suppose they wanted straigth audiences, and they get it. The movie did well on the box office opening the door for more movies.

It's like wanting the gay guy on Andie Mack have a sex life, not going to happen, but he'll probably will be the first of many gay characters on Disney

It was too long, the plot was contrived and felt more like an extended tv episode of something. It wasn't at all cinematic

For every upper middle class kid coming to terms with his sexuality, with supportive parents, friends and school, there are hundreds who don't have that support network, so this movie isn't terribly representative.

How many kids have a psychiatrist and an ex-football star as parents?

R37: But the novel (and the film) were not about being representative. If you are a closeted teen on a not so accepting enviroment Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda is a novel that gives you hope.

There are a lot of movies about bullying, unacepting parents, and conversion therapy (we have twice this year), this is a romantic comedy with a gay teen as main character

I liked it because it dealt with a gay teenage love affair, much as it would have with a straight teenage love affair, but it didn't ignore the difficulties that gay teens face and having to come out. It had a happy ending instead of death, despair and tears, (well I cried, but I cry with most movies) the way so many gay love affairs are portrayed. Showing it is possible, to a straight world that gay people can have a happy healthy relationship. No it will never be view as a classic, I don't think it was meant to be.

Favorite scene is when he came out of the shower in a towel and we saw his nipples and body. Second favorite is the one I imagined where he and Blue go home after the Ferris wheel and experiment sexually. Sweet movie otherwise.

R40, I preferred seeing Nick’s bare ass in other movies.

What this was missing:

Rich hot douchebros from the Prep School

Poor hot badboys from the wrong side of the tracks.

Jockstraps, clingy sportswear

Scenes involving spit, vomit, piss, and cum

A very bad accident

High strung MAGA mother

Hot, trash father of a friend who knows the kid is gay and says nice things

Really bad interiors

Kooky guidance counselor

Lesbian teacher and her bull dyke girlfriend

I thought it was great x

You liked seeing his nipples? Nick Robinson looks like a little boy shirtless. R40 I’m wondering if your computer should be searched.

R41 he has a flat ass.

R29 Im sure there is a fanfiction or nifty stories about that

A groundbreaking, moving exploration of coming out ....had it been made in 1996.

Blue was so damn handsome. Dreamy boyfriend material.

I found Blue handsome.

I don't know what these old broads on here were expecting for a flick aimed at teens and kids with a gay main character. They thought they were gonna get porn?

You should have known what it would be with the PG-13 rating and mainstream release. The movie you all want is R rated and would not be released mainstream cause most straight people would not go see it.

We had all these arguments when the movie came out. It was fine but it felt like it was written by a woman, which it was.

Cause a gay man writing it would mean...?

Again, the studio has the ultimate say, and they wanted a movie that could be sold to straight audiences cause if not it would flop. The majority of this movies audience was female by the way.... so they did the right thing.

R50, obviously a gay man wouldn’t have written Simon as neutered.

So because we don't see 17 year old Simon jerking off or fucking he's neutered????

R35, the movie didn’t do as well as hoped, though. It only made $66 million worldwide. It still made a profit, but it certainly wasn’t the phenomenon that Crazy Rich Asians was. It did better than Moonlight, although that had a much smaller budget.

But overall, the general public really does not have that much interest in LGBT content.

R53 that is why they make it as straight friendly as possible, cause even when it is straight friendly it doesn't do that well. Imagine if it was full blown LGBT? It would make even less.

There aren't that many gay people in this world compared to straight.

R53: Nobody talked about the movie being a phenomenon, but the truth is the movie had a good box office, there are a lot of straight teen movies that do way worse. The movie made profit which is what it counts.

R19 how old are you? Let me guess, your coming out didn't happen such a long time ago, right?

I graduated Catholic high school in 1978. Our class President was a Black Gay Guy with a lisp. No one said anything about him.

He’s the president of a hospital now.

R56: Times changed. Right now there are people who suffered a lot throught their coming out proccess, but fortunately more and more common to have a clean coming out, without big drame and keeping your friends.

But the opposite happens too, i remember Calum Scott saying he lost all his friends when he came out

If you are R19, R57 you don't sound like you graduated high school in 1978.

All 3 of Simons friends have better careers than him right now, for the most part.

Nick Robinson had Jurassic World and that's all, the rest smaller films and roles, which is fine, but nothing major.

Alexandra Shipp (Abby) is Storm in the new X-Men movies and in A Dogs Way Home as well as 5 upcoming projects.

Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Nick) is in Bumblebee and Alita : Battle Angel coming out.

Katherine Langford (Leah) has 13 Reasons Why, a tv show Cursed and 3 or 4 film projects coming up.

Nick Robinson has 4 upcoming Indie flicks, not all main roles.

R59, I’m R57, and not R19.

We had a HS reunion last year, 40, and I skipped it. I did go to and enjoy a friend’s reunion, though.

I think that Nick, Blue and Katherine Langford are all beautiful. And the bi-racial actor actually is gay. Josh Dummel is definitely a DILF. I love Jennifer Garner in anything.

Which bi-racial actor? Blue, Abby and Nick were all played by bi-racial actors.

I'm sorry, Blue.

Bi, R62! 😡😡😡

Bi is not in my vocabulary, sorry. Gay is.

I just started the audiobook based on this thread. So far, so good.

The book is good. Leah is better in the book, I hated her in the movie, and the way Simon finds out who Blue is plays out differently but I like that change in the movie cause it worked better.

I thought the hot blond jock guy who was always with them and wore the speedo at the costume party was going to be blue.

R69 really? Not once did I think he was Blue. He was clearly straight frat bro party type.

Some of us read the book.

Different gay people have vastly different experiences. I’ve been loudly out at work since 2004 so that it didn’t have to put up with straight expectations. I was shocked to talk to younger gay employees at my last job saying they had never been out at work before. I think we olds assume too much about what the experience is today. This movie did a good job at showing the particular experience it set out to do.

Budget was $17 mil, double that to account for marketing. So it turned a nice profit. Plus it has a 3.5 multiplier which means it had legs.

Keiynan Lonsdale (Blue) is sex on a stick and is bi.

The guy who played Blue was very cute.

LOVE, SIDNEY was far deeper

[quote] I graduated Catholic high school in 1978. Our class President was a Black Gay Guy with a lisp. No one said anything about him. He’s the president of a hospital now.

I'm much more interested in how he would describe his high school experience.

I read the book and I would not have picked the same movie cast.

The movie was fine but the ending was really stupid.

It was a huge offensive sterotype filled piece of shit. The whole dialogue about the flamboyant gay kid and Simon being jealous of him because it was "obvi" he was gay. The whole secret admirer thing. The hyper-masculine cool dad. It was all just a pile of shit. It was a half step above a hallmark channel movie that got high profile because of Berlanti.

R76 why?

Meh - ok. More of an after school special. Nick Robinson was cute but not a lot of depth - and a little too confident and straight acting to believe he was a traumatized gay youth. Glad I didn’t pay to see it at the theater.

As much as parents were accepting, it struck me as something that could have been made 10-20 years ago. Guess I’m surprised that it’s still so hard to come out. I came out in the 80s at 17 - and while family and people in general weren’t as accepting, process felt very similar. But I did love the Jennifer Garner line “you can breathe now”- made me cry.

R80 it’s still hard. I know people that still are too scared to come out. It’s sad but true.

I saw it in a theater. The social experience of people in the audience rooting for Simon was powerful. I imagined that happening all over the country and in many places around the world.

We need our own stories. It’s a big deal, in my opinion. “Love, Simon” is one of our stories.

R82 I agree. My theater applauded when he kissed Blue and some girls were screaming. It was powerful.

But that’s not most of America, sadly.

[quote]My theater applauded when he kissed Blue and some girls were screaming.

I was cringing at how stupid this public stunt was. It was every bit as cringey as the public gesture the dork character did to someone earlier.

Forcing Blue to meet him in public in front of the entire school? Okay.

It's the Citizen Kane of LGBTQRSTI+ cinema!

R84 in the book Blue tells him who he is in private at the Carnival. But that wasn’t theatrical enough for the movie.

It's only the first film in a projected trilogy:

LOVE SIMON

MARRY SIMON

CONTRACT GONORRHEA OFF THAT CHEATING SLUT, SIMON

The sequel to the book isn’t even a sequel but a spin off that focuses on Leah.

It was nice. Sweet and friendly. My best friend hated it. He said it was too lovey dovey.

It's a gay teen rom-com. And with that in mind it is a really nice gay teen rom-com.

There are edgier, and indie-er, gay themed movies, TV shows and web series out there for those who are into that.

Loved this movie and too bad I didn't have a movie like that to watch when I was a teen. Very reminiscent of John Hughes.

The underlying homophobia was disgusting. Flamboyant gay men have it easy because everyone knows they are gay but the straight acting types have it so much harder. The fact it was portrayed as something bad to tell people, that the main character was willing to sacrifice his morals, and best friends because he was so afraid of being outed he would subject his friend to possible rape. Yeah, what a heartwarming feel-good movie.

I preferred the book, but didn't have any major problems with the film. The guy who is revealed as Blue in the book is a character you barely notice outside of the email exchanges, whereas he was far more prominent in the film. It was idealised for sure; two anonymous gay teens write to each other and it turns out they fancy each other in real life too...well maybe this once let it pass. It was refreshing to see a coming out movie without hysteria or suicide in it.

Not being a fan of the younger man there wasn't much eye candy in it, but the guy playing Simon's dad was fucking hot.

[quote] The underlying homophobia was disgusting. Flamboyant gay men have it easy because everyone knows they are gay but the straight acting types have it so much harder.

We are all self centered by nature. Our own problems and struggle trump everybody else's problems and struggles. I thought it was one of the most real moments in the movie when Simon acted like a self loathing, closeted douchebag towards the out and proud femme guy. Our fears and insecurities, when triggered, make us do and say things we aren't necessarily proud of afterwards.

I like Tony Randall but Swoosie Kurtz is a poor substitute for Lorna Patterson. Who was an excellent substitute for Goldie Hawn.

[quote]Flamboyant gay men have it easy because everyone knows they are gay but the straight acting types have it so much harder.

I gather you're an effeminate gay with lots of grudge toward masculine gays, because that's the only explanation I can give for such a hyperbolic whine. No one said it was easier in the broader sense, but it was implied that from his limited perspective as a teen he had it easy.

He's a teenager as someone already posted and at that age, you're self-centered by default. This was a lovely movie. Me thinks R92 needs some therapy and less social justice juice.

[quote]The underlying homophobia was disgusting. Flamboyant gay men have it easy because everyone knows they are gay but the straight acting types

The only underlying homophobia here is yours, thinking a masculine gay guy is acting as a straight men.

R87 - lol. But kinda true for most gay men. While maybe true for some, I don’t think of gay men coming out as the romantic Lifetime movie that is Love Simon. More like having furtive sex because the urge is so strong - then dealing with the emotional element in your 20s.

Nice story but totally doesn’t ring true. Especially the idea of meeting in the most public way possible with the whole school watching. Not sure it helps the average gayling navigate the emotional and sexual complexity of coming out.

Making a joke about Bill Cosby while using a Michael Jackson song for a fantasy sequence between two underage white boys kissing over the mistletoe … not gonna age well.

An "enlightened" world without Asians, Latinos, or lesbians in it … not gonna age well.

R99 to be fair the Michael Jackson song was from when he was a kid. Before he was a perv.

The absence of lesbians is an especially bitter pill to swallow after Berlanti put a trans-identified male on [italic]Supergirl[/italic].

The focus was on Simon in a less than 2 hour movie. How many characters were you expecting?!

The book gave the actual relationship more time than the movie. Once the movie reveals who Blue is, then it's over.

I love the posters who insist that a movie has to include everything and everyone to be any good, but then they sure complain that the one represantation they care for doesn't get enough time and pushed aside by all these other unworthy representations.

R103 maybe we will see Simon again of the Leah movie gets made.

Hated it.

It's hard to respect a guy who submits to blackmail and even harder to respect someone who justifies blackmailing a gay man by hiding behind having a gay brother. And doing an homage to John Hughes now seems kind of tone-deaf in the wake of what Molly Ringwald said about him.

{R22] I think the whole point of that scene was that his dancing was supposed to be 'half-assed' because his personality simply wouldn't gel with a full-blown diva anthems, glitters, unicorns and rainbows coming out. That was the point of the line at the end "Well, maybe not *that* gay..."

This was based on a boy love book, not a pedo term but a literary genre written by fraus for mini fraus (tween girls) who get off teenage boys loving each other. There's not space or reason to include anything but the two.

Incredible how writing masculine gay characters irritates some posters. Funny even.

R107 what did Ringwald say about Hughes?

I'm not aware of that either, R110. Was she "raped" too?

I think the only beef they had with each other was when she declined an offer for a role and he took it personally.

It's more than that.

I used to have such a crush on Emilio Estevez.

He's in his underwear in [italic]Tex[/italic] and [italic]National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1[/italic], R114.

Most felt Charlie Sheen was the hotter one but I’d take Emilio over him any day

If you listened to the audio book, this is the voice actor:

R117: He's cuter than Nick Robinson.

[quote] Most felt Charlie Sheen was the hotter one

Don't get me started.

I have a friend in his 50's who did not come out until a few years ago. He saw this and said "THIS IS ME. I RELATE TO ALL OF IT." I had no words. Except silent pity.

[italic]In a Heartbeat[/italic] told the same story better in 5 minutes.

I though Noah Galvin did the audiobook for this story. Interesting.

He might have made a more interesting choice as Simon.

I liked Robinson as Simon, but I think he and the rest of his high school friends -- supposedly juniors -- appeared to me to be older than 17. And I think his parent were cast too young.

No pansexuals in this movie, which I found particularly wounding. Where were the Chinese people? Where were the Eskimos??

Timothee Chalamet is more how I pictured Simon when I read the book.

Nick Robinson brought a winsomeness to the role and did a fine job with the script, but I think Chalamet has the better look for Simon.

[quote] He was in the closet so he is doing whatever that ugly fuck wants so he doesn’t out him, ok. But what does ugly fuck want? Abby. Once Simon came out to Abby in the car he could have told her what was going on and been honest with her. I am sure Abby would have put a stop to that ASAP or at least helped Simon our in PRETENDING to be into ugly fuck.

Why do you talk like a fourteen-year-old girl?

Why no Nick Robinson dong?

TimMEe would have turned it into a bomb like that Steve Carell thing.

They turned it into a pinkwashing opportunity for Waffle House.

I'm pissed that the scene where Simon presents hole to the entire football team in the locker room after the big game got cut.

R125, name one movie about gay Inuits. Just one.

I think the movie is super cute. Very sweet.

The actress that plays Abby is really pretty! She’s bi-racial.

r132 igloo cornholers 3, polar bears and otters 5 and Is that a umiak in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

An umiak is a type of boat, R134, so that would be a pretty big pocket.

I feel that R134 was well aware that it's a boat; Flash by name R135, Flash by nature.

As to the film, for me I thought it was quite sweet and jolly watchable for a necessarily anodyne Hollywood production intended for a mainstream audience. Someone I know that are well into their 40s came out after watching this film, if it helped anyone else make a similar decision then I'm happy to ignore all of the usual DL deplorables comment and say that it's a good film for that alone.

Except we made that same movie 20 years ago and called it [italic]Beautiful Thing[/italic].

R138 ours was better and cuter.

Mate R138, that's a cracking good film, one of the very few films that make me dab my eyes at the end...

Except in 1996, it was not public knowledge that John Phillips, whose music is all over that movie, was fucking his daughter.

Wtf is wrong with these people??

An irrelevant and cunty point R141.

[quote]irrelevant and cunty

Madge's booking agents.

R140

And working class gays. A bit cartoony, but nevertheless, at least it's not more self-indulgent middle class angst.

BEAUTIFUL THING is the best gay movie ever, especially in terms of writing. There's so much of merit in the realization of that film. And the final scene, which sends the movie off into the realm of fairytale, is perfect.

R146 And, kind of sweetly, turns out Scott Neal who played Ste is gay and Glenn Berry who played Jamie isn't.

Scott Neal gay? Confirmed? Link please!

R148 He's never come out. He's never needed to check his twitter and his instagram!

R148 For example:

Gay or not, he aged extremely well.

[quote]BEAUTIFUL THING is the best gay movie ever, especially in terms of writing. There's so much of merit in the realization of that film. And the final scene, which sends the movie off into the realm of fairytale, is perfect.

Oh that movie was horseshit, a gay boy's fantasy, fall in love with the boy next door and Mama not only approves but moves him in.

Team Beautiful Thing.

R152, if you don't get that the movie is a fable/fantasy, then clearly you didn't watch the ending, which made it clear.

I thought both actors at Beautiful Thing turned out to be gay?

I loved the book of SIMON which I read long before a movie was announced- gay YA is my brain candy of choice but I thought SIMON was by far the best of the lot and the one that felt most like a ‘real’ book.

I thought the movie was fine and I get why they made the changes they did but it definitely waters it down. Nick Robinson was also totally not at all how I pictured Simon - I had more of a Kevin McHale vibe, but with messy blonde hair. In the book he’s short with Harry Potter glasses and perpetual bedhead. I get why they went with NR but I prefer the Simon of my imagination.

The sequel, LEAH ON THE OFF-BEAT was a considerable disappointment. But the same author’s WHAT IF IT’S US (co-written with another YA author) was very cute and fun if that’s your kind of thing.

R156, I liked What If It’s Us also.

I liked Love Simon, but I thought Netflix's Alex Stranglelove which is similar was a much better film. AS is much funnier and sexier than Simon. Too bad it didn't get a theatrical run. Also, Beautiful Thing is one of my favorite movies ever. I've seen it at least a dozen times and I wish it would be released on blu-ray already.

R155 Nope. Not if wikipedia is to be believed, anyway.