Yesterday Shanti and I went to see Love, Simon with fellow book bloggers Ella and Lara. I really enjoyed it, but to shake things up here’s a review of it.
You know how when you watch a movie, you want it to be exactly like the book, but also different and better? Love, Simon captured the spirit of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda without being boring or exactly the same. It was at its essence just really really well done. The acting was great, the email scenes weren’t just a boring person sitting on their laptop, and THE FERRIS WHEEL SCENE !!! I’m going to discuss a few aspects of the film that I think are particularly notable, instead of doing a straight (lol pun not intended) review; you can find plenty of those on the internet already.
Leah
Leah was acted by the person who played Hannah in 13 Reasons Why, apparently. She was probably my favourite actor in the whole movie. Although her role wasn’t huge, I think she perfectly depicted a very complex character (‘I don’t do casual’=100% me) in a very nuanced way. This makes me re-excited for Leah on the Offbeat, because I remembered what an interesting character Leah is and how much I loved her in the Simon book.
The Emails
I really liked how Simon imagines various people writing him the emails until he learns who it is. It was confusing that it was his imagination (I low key thought they’d changed the identity of Blue or revealed it early or something until I realised it was all in Simon’s head) but I think it worked really well to show how Simon’s brain was working. However, I do think that although it was implied that a lot more emails were sent than you see, based on the content that you see in the movie, it doesn’t really make sense that Simon falls in love with Blue? I mean, it doesn’t really show them getting to know each other through the emails, so the relationship did feel like it went through a lot of development.
Humour
This is a really funny movie, people. Probably funnier than the book. Martin’s character is so cringe and annoying but also strangely funny, and there’s great banter. Simon’s Vice Principal is a bit too hip with the kids but totally crack up, and his drama director is funny too. This is at it’s heart a teen rom-com, and it shows.
Family
I loved the depiction of Simon’s family in the movie. (Although I really wish his older sister alice had been in it because I really liked her as a character. But she wasn’t too important to the plot so that’s okay). It was nice to have a movie where the parents are actually part of the story, and I loved how his little sister just cooked all the time. Although not every family is as loving as Simon’s, it just made the movie that much more happy. Also, I really liked the father-son scene, and the discussion about all the vaguely offensive comments Simon had had to live with for years.
Idealisation
This is a rom com, and they’re supposed to be idealised. But all of Simon’s friends, as well as himself, were very very rich. He practically lived in a mansion, and had all the latest Apple products. The house was waaaayyy too tidy, and apart from his ‘huge-ass secret’ Simon didn’t really have any problems. But, as Shanti explains in this twitter thread, Simon has it all–wealth, whiteness, and a supportive collection of family and friends. Yet society still isn’t accepting, and coming out is still hard. It’s good that Love, Simon emphasised that, while being cute and fun.
Love, Simon was idealised and wasn’t perfect. But it was a faithful yet creative adaptation of the book, and if it’s out in the country where you live and you have the means to see it, I couldn’t recommend it enough. It’s a fun, cute rom-com (which, as a side note, is my favourite genre.) But it’s the first (and to my knowledge, only) gay, fun, cute, rom-com.

How do you feel about book-to-move adaptations? Have you watched this one? Have you read the book? Are you as excited about Love, Simon as the rest of the YA community?
I’m usually so afraid of book to movie adaptations because they don’t always do such a good job… but I was definitely stoked with this one! It was just hella cute and I’m so glad you were back in CHCH and we all got to go and see it together!
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I usually don’t like screen adaptations of books but I’m very curious and want to see Love, Simon so your review is very helpful ^^
Yuli @ Damaged Pages
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I’m glad you appreciated! Yeah movies often aren’t as good but I hope you get a chance to watch this one ❤
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Oh I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much and that you thought it was a great adaptation! I really loved the book and, from what I’ve seen, the cast looks amazing as well so I can’t wait to finally see them in action on the big screen haha. Unfortunately, I have to wait until the end of June to see it in my country, but I can’t wait ❤ ❤
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I think you’ll really enjoy this when you do watch it!! Movie adaptations can be such a hit and miss but this was really good and I had so much fun watching it and just yayayay!!! It’s funny how they release movies on different dates in different countries… will it be dubbed into French or in English? And will it be popular in cinemas if it’s not french and based on an English book?
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Oh it will most likely be dubbed in French, but if I’m going to see it in a big city I will be able to see it in English. Also, I think it will be quite popular, given that the book has been translated in French a while ago and published here, too, and has been a bit popular, too, from what I’ve heard 😀
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I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! 😍Basically everyone is raving and getting all those squishy feels and I’m jealous I don’t have a cinema in my town.😭😂But I will definitely see it when it comes out!! And I’m impressed it balances the being-slightly-different vs also-being-true-to-the-book. That’s really hard to do and super awesome when pulled off. I just want to see all the cute feels and humour. ahhhh!!
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Awww it’s sad not to have a cinema in your town! Then again, you can save money and get a digital or dvd that you can watch over and over 😀 . I hope you really like it when you get to watch it !! There’s only a few movie adaptations that I really love, and this was one that just worked for me!
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Happy you enjoyed it. I’m considering to read the book after I finish Andre Aciman’s “Call Me By Your Name” because I’d like to see the differences between source and adaptation.
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I really like when a movie inspires me to read the book. That happened for me with The Help. Thanks for commenting (but if you read this, hopefully you realised I did enjoy the movie)
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