Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Love, Simon Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 7, 2018

High school can be an emotional minefield even under the best of circumstances, but kids with additional “baggage” of one sort or another can often find the three or four years they spend in such facilities unbearable at times. One of the interesting things about Love, Simon is that Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) isn’t the social outcast that “different” teenagers often become in high school. In fact, Simon is surrounded not just by a loving family, but also by a retinue of friends who all seem to enjoy him immensely. But there’s always a disconnect between outer reality and inner emotional states even for those who consider themselves “normal” (whatever that means nowadays), and Simon most definitely does not consider himself normal, since he’s harboring the supposedly devastating secret that he’s gay. That “supposedly” is especially salient in the film since even Simon seems to realize that in today’s culture and even more so with regard to the context which Simon finds himself in (namely, those aforementioned loving parents and strong friendships) no one would probably care that much if he just “outed” himself. Why Simon takes a while to get to where this film is obviously going is perhaps not sufficiently explained, but otherwise Love, Simon, while essaying much of the same “teen angst” territory as any number of other at least passingly similar films, has a rather unique perspective on the travails that can confront teens on the cusp of adulthood. There may be a somewhat curious connection for some who have seen the currently running Broadway musical Dear Evan Hansen (by Pasek and Paul of The Greatest Showman and La La Land fame) in that emails, including "leaked" emails, play an important part in the story revolving around high school kids trying to come to terms with their own social anxieties, but the only singing and dancing in this film comes courtesy of an arguably needless subplot involving the drama department's production of Kander and Ebb's Cabaret, a show which perhaps not so coincidentally tends to at least hint at some sexual "oddities" and even gender confusion.

The “It Gets Better” movement spawned a series of helpful PSAs and hashtags, but some curmudgeons may see Simon’s supposed “lot” in life and posit a “#Hey,You’veAlreadyGotItPrettyGood,Dude” instead (do hashtags allow apostrophes and commas?). That is arguably one of the deficits to the whole subtext (and indeed even the main text) of Love, Simon, and it makes certain elements like a bit of blackmail from another student named Martin (Logan Miller) play a little inauthentically. When Martin himself later gets a bit of social comeuppance, again the film seems to teeter precariously close to cliché territory, despite its focus on a young gay character coming to terms with himself and his place in the world. When you add in parents portrayed by Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner, Simon’s life almost seems like a contemporary update of the “perfection” of Leave It to Beaver, with the “added benefit” that Garner’s character is evidently also a therapist.

Now all of this may lead some to think that the film is well meaning but ineffective, but rather refreshingly, that’s actually not the case. When Simon kind of “meets cute” online with another (initially anonymous) gay kid from his school, it starts a friendship and hopes for something more, though even this plot element might be seen as just another riff on aspects dealt with in films like You've Got Mail. What gives Love, Simon some of its heart and a lot of its breezy comic moments are the natural performances of the leads (a few of the supporting characters, including the drama teacher played by Natasha Rothwell and the vice principal played by Tony Hale, are frankly written on the cartoonish side and so can’t help but come off that way in the acting department). Robinson’s ease with the character helps the film to elide some of its inconsistencies, though, again, there’s an almost willful disconnect between whatever “trauma” Simon is experiencing and the relative cushiness of both his physical and indeed even his emotional life.

What’s ultimately really kind of winning about Love, Simon is how natural and unaffected (from a performance standpoint) the film treats Simon’s sexuality, at least for the most part. Again, some arguably needless interpolations like a vignette documenting "how to dress like a gay guy" seem too silly even for the film's kind of lighthearted take on an obviously serious subject. Elements like that aside, Simon is a kid with smarts and self awareness who at the same time is still emotionally vulnerable and unsure of himself and the screenplay and performances help to bring that dialectic nicely alive. That said, the film charts Simon’s course toward full honesty with perhaps just a bit of subterfuge itself, never really daring to go for some of the real hurt and isolation that many LGBTQ folks obviously feel at times. As such, the film may be a “safe” feeling look at an “alternative reality” for some who aren’t completely comfortable with this particular demographic.

Love, Simon Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Love, Simon is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is the latest release where the IMDb lists the camera (Arri Alexa) and a DI, without specifying what resolution the DI was finished at (I suspect 2K, which I personally haven't been able to confirm anywhere, but if anyone can point me to authoritative data, I'll mention it in an update to this review). One way or the other, this is a perfectly competent looking transfer that nonetheless never really rises to "wow" territory from a purely visual standpoint. There are a few intentional "lo-fi" moments here, including an opening montage that I assume is maybe supposed to look like home movies or something like that, but otherwise clarity is typically excellent, with the exception of a few nighttime scenes that look a bit murky. The palette is natural looking, and does have a few nice moments of true "pop" (some related to the production of Cabaret), but, again, nothing here that will probably "amaze" videophiles in any meaningful way. Detail levels are nice if uninspiring, perhaps due at least in part to the fairly unremarkable costumes most characters wear and the absence of any ornate props. Compression issues don't enter the fray at all, as tends to be the case with Blu-rays Fox releases.

Love, Simon Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Love, Simon is awash in source cues, and the musical elements tend to really buoy the disc's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix in a way that the more intimate dialogue scenes can't. That said, there's consistent immersion here in many of the high school set scenes, where the cacophony of kids in the halls or even the travails of the Cabaret production offer good engagement of the surround channels. Dialogue is always prioritized smartly, and fidelity is fine throughout the audio presentation, with no problems of any kind to report.

Love, Simon Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 7:48)


• The Adaptation (1080p; 10:41) features Greg Berlanti and the cast and crew discussing adapting the film from its original novel.


• The Squad (1080p; 9:40) focuses on Simon and his cohorts.


• #FirstLoveStory Contest Winner (1080p; 1:34) features Greg Berlanti introducing a short film that won a contest identified by a (wouldn't you know it?) hashtag.


• Dear Georgia (1080p; 5:07) looks at the filming location.


• Dear Atlanta (1080p; 2:06) offers more of the same.


• Commentary by Greg Berlanti, Isaac Klausner and Isaac Aptaker


• Gallery (1080p; 2:05) offers both a Manual Advance and an Auto Advance option. The timing is for the Auto Advance option.


• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 4:11)

Love, Simon Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are some online sources which credit Love, Simon with being the first film released by a major Hollywood studio to focus on teenage gay romance. That might come as a surprise to Lionsgate, which released Moonlight over a year ago, a film which at least tangentially touched on a gay relationship, and there are any number of other (often international) films which have had teen gay aspects, as in the interesting Brazilian film The Way He Looks. So, I'm not sure if Love, Simon really and truly deserves the huge "Groundbreaking!" pull quote that adorns its back cover, especially since the film tends to shirk from some of the harrowing emotional difficulties many LGBTQ kids have experienced. That said, Love, Simon is undeniably heartfelt and really kind of sweet and emotionally resonant, helped by some breezy dialogue and good performances by the principal cast. Technical merits are solid, and Love, Simon comes Recommended.