Based on the best-selling novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Love, Simon is acoming of age, gay romantic comedy from director, Greg Berlanti – co-producer of the Arrowverse shows. Love, Simon stars Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel and Keiynan Lonsdale, and made its debut in 2018.
I’m going to tell you this now, when Love, Simon hit cinemas back in 2018, it was met with a great deal of positivity. So, if you haven’t watched it yet, now is the time to give it a go.
And if you want more of an incentive to watch the film, here is what the critics thought of Love, Simon during it’s theatrical run.
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Love, Simon movie review round-up
Below are five review snippets, originally published by critics in 2018. Here’s what the critics had to say about Love, Simon:
- Josh Winning of Games Radar, awarded Love, Simon four stars (out of five), calling the movie “honest and good-natured without ever being patronising.” He said: “For queer teens who have endured a distinct lack of cinematic representation for too long, Love, Simon is a gift that should guarantee a place in the hallowed halls of high-school movie cultdom.”
- Benjamin Lee of The Guardian also awarded Love, Simon four stars (out of five) and said: “The audience in my press screening reacted giddily as if it were the end of a Marvel blockbuster: cheering, clapping and squealing at what felt like an unfettered breakthrough moment for mainstream representation of same-sex romance. Love, Simon won’t be short of critics (and many of them will be adamant that its story is either unimportant or, gasp, amoral) but within its sleek studio skeleton, there’s genuine heart.”
- The praise for Love, Simon continued from MJ Franklin of Mashable who said: “Perhaps the true triumph of Love, Simon is the way that the movie balances all of those elements: it’s a heart-wrenching, empathy-expanding look at what it means to be a gay teen AND it’s a universal story about the awkward, messy attempts of navigating high school, AND it’s a hilarious comedy in its own right. Ultimately, Love, Simon feels like an instant classic that you’re going to want to watch again and again.”
- Peter Debruge of Variety noted Love, Simon’s importance, but thought the movie was just OK. He said: “A studio-made romantic comedy for teens with a closeted gay protagonist marks an important first, even if the movie is pretty much average in all other respects.”
- Mark Pacis awarded Love, Simon three atoms (out of five) and said: “Love, Simon is a highly predictable but important film. It’s a bit indefensible that the film used every romantic comedy cliché in the book, but it’s nice to see them used in a different light. Regardless, Love, Simon is a step in the right direction for equality, and it’s proof that conventional rom-coms are no longer just for straight people.”
As noted above, the general feeling towards Love, Simon was positive. And having seen the film (multiple times) myself, I have to agree.
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Thank you for taking the time to read this post on It’s A Stampede!. For more Love, Simon-related posts, check out one of the recommended reads below.
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