FILM REVIEW: LOVE, SIMON (12A)

Whether Love, Simon is the ultimate ‘coming out’ gay movie that Hollywood has been clamouring for is open to some conjecture – but it at least works as a heartfelt melodrama.

The main characters – although likeable – probably aren’t strong or gritty enough to make this comedy/romance/drama as clever or eye-opening as it thinks it is, but there’s undoubtedly enough amiability here to still make it the gender-defining equivalent of The Fault in Our Stars (as this was produced by the same team).

Jurassic World’s Nick Robinson stars as Simon Spiers, a teenager in his last year of high school who has kept a huge secret – which he has known since his Daniel ‘Harry Potter’ Radcliffe fantasies from a young age – from his family, friends and classmates: that he’s gay.

And when another fellow pupil goes anonymously online on the school forum to say he’s of the same inclination – but he’s yet to ‘come out’ – Simon becomes fascinated with his story and they spark up a friendship under false aliases.

But when he accidentally leaves his email details open on a school computer this sparks off a chain of events – with particular consequences for his close friends – that will soon lead to Simon disclosing his revelation – with his parents Emily (Jennifer Garner) and Jack (Josh Duhamel) also in the dark – and will make him come to terms with his identity.

And through a few decent twists and turns this is nicely pieced together to becoming a watchable – and intermittently moving – genre movie.

It sadly doesn’t really take any real risks – and whether Robinson shows enough acting range to get the most out of the lead part is questionable – but there’s a pleasantly charming undertone that allows this modern teenage love story to still make its mark.

Gavin Miller [youtube id=”ruX-PES5FSI” width=”600″ height=”350″]

Cast: Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, Logan Miller, Jorge Lendeborg Jr & Keiynan Lonsdale

Running Time: 1 Hr 50 Mins

Director: Greg Berlanti

Visit www.showcasecinemas.co.uk for the latest up-to-date showtimes for movies at Showcase Cinema de Lux Peterborough. You can also join the chat on Twitter @showcasecinemas or on Facebook by searching for ‘Showcase Cinemas UK’.