If there is one genre of film that has definitely tired out audiences over the years, it would be the YA adaptation genre. Movies based off of YA material, which stands for young adult, usually falls into two categories. The first of those being generic high school melodramas, and the second being lifeless post apocalyptic sci-fi drab. A few years a go, theatres were overstuffed with awful versions of these movies, such as The Host, Vampire Academy, and The Duff. The actors in these movie rarely ever sound like normal teens and the struggles they go through ooze of a bunch of executives in a room saying “Yeah that’s how the kids talk”. That’s why it is very refreshing when a movie based off of YA material comes along and actually does manage to be relatable and offer up a unique perspective. And thankfully, that is exactly what Greg Berlanti maned to accomplish with Love Simon.

Love Simon, based on the book Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda written by Becky Albertali, is set in Atlanta Georgia and follows your every day kid in Simon, played by Nick Robinson. Simon does well in school, has a good group of friends, and has a good relationship with his family. Simon is your poster definition of normal except for one major factor, and that is that he is gay. And when an anonymous web student who goes by the name of “Blue” tells the world that he is gay online, Simon realizes that he finally has someone to talk to about his secret. As you can probably tell from the above synopsis, this story is somewhat cliched. There are many beats and paths that this movie goes down and few of them are what I would call holy original. However, having the lead character in a teen romance movie like this be homo sexual is very refreshing. It offers a new perspective that is not often seen in mainstream films. It should also be commended that the film doesn’t try to act as if it’s the most important film in the world. While the fact that Simon is gay may be a main part of the plot, the film still treats him as your average kid and tries to show that this is in no way out of the ordinary. While Simon’s fear of not being accepted for his secret his highlighted, the film in no way has a self righteous mantra about it which helps highlight the fact that these are issues that many teens might go through. While many films in a high school setting often will have its characters talk unnaturally and would feed into the stereotypes of young people, but that is not an issue here. All of the characters in this film are fully fleshed out and are pulled off through great performances as well. Nick Robinson is wonderful as the lead of Simon. I’d be lying if I said his voice over didn’t get on my nerves, but is portrayal of a teen who isn’t necessarily socially awkward but still feels somewhat lost the way how is character goes from compassion when it comes to some people to general ambivalence when it comes to others is very funny, and the way how Robinson portrays the closeted home sexual nature of this character is very believable and is in no way played for laughs. Other teen actors such as Katherine Langford, Alexandra Shipp, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr all give great performances and compliment Simon well. There is one particular scene that involves Simon talking with his friend Leah, played by Katherine Langford, in his room that may have been my favorite scene in the film. Special mention goes to Logan Miller, who expertly plays one of the most insufferable characters I have seen on film in a while with Martin, and Jennifer Garner and Josh Duhamel, who are excellent as Simon’s caring and loving parents. When you have a somewhat sappy story like this, the characters are what make or break the film. And in that category, the film is most definitely made.

Calling this an “ambitiously made” film would probably be a misnomer. While I can’t deny that the content of the film wasn’t unique and didn’t provide a different perspective then most films, the actual film making was pretty standard. There’s nothing very visually appealing about this film as it is shot and edited in a normal way. The movie thankfully always keeps the aesthetic of looking like an actual theatrically released film, unlike a lot of high school movies, but everything you see here is fairly standard. However, I would argue that director Greg Berlanti makes it very clear in this film that the film making was not the main focus. This type of story doesn’t call for a Kubrick-esque, so the simple directing actually highlights the writing and characters of the film. And speaking of the writing, one of the films biggest strengths is how it so well juggles funny comedy and heartfelt drama. When this movie wants to be funny, it’s really funny. It perfectly captures the awkward and even at times ridiculous occurrences that happen when your a teenager in a very tasteful way. Characters joke with each other while also playfully make fun of each other. There’s even an adult character in this film that thinks he’s very hip with the students, only making all of his lines feel very blundering. However, this film really shines in its dramatic moments. You see Simon’s inner struggles framed in the emails that he sends Blue, and watching his inner trumoil with him trying to cope with his secret is honestly kind of heart breaking in a way. Almost every character has a personal issue they are trying to cope with, and thankfully the film rarely veers into cheesy territory. I say rarely because the ending did have me snickering a bit, which I don’t think was the films intention. This movie is an hour and fifty minutes, which I felt was genuinely well paced for the type of movie. It could have maybe been a bit shorter, but at no point in the film was I dreading my time while watching it. The only real issue I have with the film making is that whenever Simon is emailing someone, it jarringly will zoom in rapidly on certain words. This came off as annoying as it made the camera work seem schizophrenic. But other then that, Berlanti directs this film in a quiet way that only highlights character interactions.

In the world of film, getting stories from different perspectives is always important. Whether its someone with a different, background, culture, or life style, the film world seems fresh when you have movies that aren’t just about the same types of characters. And thankfully, Love Simon is equally respectful as it is important. In the end, Love Simon is a heart warming film that puts anew perspective on the high school genre. If you still can, I would recommend seeing this in the theatre. This is one movie that you will definitely be grateful was sent to screens.