The weekend that Love, Simon came out, I cried a little bit because I worked that weekend, and the Sunday I had off, I was called in. However, the following weekend I went home to relax, and I immediately found someone to drag to the movie theater, so they could hear me cry all throughout the movie.
And boy did I cry. Tears were shed, snot dripped, it was fantastic.
I’ll start off by saying that the movie was excellent. I had read the book right before going to watch the movie, and I left the movie with little to no disappointments. The movie and the book are definitely different; when books turn into movies, there need to be changes to account for the difference in mediums. For example, while the book begins in the middle of the situation, starting right at the point when Martin blackmails Simon, the movie goes through an entire day of school to show us what Simon’s life is like before he gets blackmailed. While book Simon is a lot more careful around how his friends are involved with Martin’s blackmail, movie Simon is a lot sloppier and even lies more, tangling his friends further into the mess of things.
These changes didn’t feel dishonest, though. The movie flows just as well as the book does, and both versions have the same soul to it. Both versions feel warm and loving.
One of my favorite scenes from both the movie and the book is the scene where Simon confronts Martin. After Martin outs Simon, Simon has to deal with the way others react, and not all of his peers reacted kindly or respectfully. A pair of boys publicly humiliate him, and this comes as a shock to Martin.
I didn’t know people still did things like that.
I think, in a way, a lot of us are like Martin. We do things without believing that they can actually go wrong. We lash out because we’re upset, and we don’t know how far our actions will spiral. For Martin, outing Simon was kind of a joke, and he didn’t realize how much he endangered Simon. For Martin, it was just a quick joke done out of anger. For Simon, it meant dealing with everyone’s reactions, some of which were not respectful in the least.
It was only when things went wrong that Martin really started to think about his actions. He realized that people could still be hurt for their sexuality. Maybe, for some of us, this movie was our reminder.
I’m really glad for this scene, because it reminds us that we still have a ways to go, and we still need to have compassion and consideration for those around us. In fact, I’m happy for the entire movie. I’m happy that I got the chance to cry so freely in a theater over a young, teenage boy being gay and happy and in love. I’m glad we got to see him be hugged and loved by his friends and family, even when he thinks his world is going to crap.
If you haven’t seen Love, Simon yet, please do. If you haven’t read Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda, please do. I promise you, you’ll have a great time.
PRR Writer, Matty Ortega
Make sure to check out ourreview of Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda now.