Love, Simon

Totally awesome. Whether it’s Romeo and Juliet being pulled apart by family drama, any John Hughes character battling social cliques or the Duff finding her place with the pretty people at school, teen love is filled with conflict. Yup, from West Side Story and Pretty In Pink to Clueless and Bring It On, every generation has their “high school film.” Love, Simon falls nicely into in that lively lineup. 

The conflict at hand in 2018? Simon, a gay teen in the closet, finds a social pen pal from his school who has the same secret. Neither are confident about coming out during their high school years, even in 2018.

Simon is a light comedy with no harsh edges, but with sharp writing. This is not a gritty film about the LGBT experience today. It’s a feel good, crowd pleaser with a tone not unlike Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and it's breezy fun. 

Super producer Jack Antonoff curated the soundtrack which, like his work, borrows a few beats from the eighties. Perfect for this totally awesome film. 

In a nutshell: Is it a formulaic story or this generation’s classic teen comedy? It's both.
 
Award potential: It's not that type of film, and too early in the year for the Academy to remember Antonoff's "Alfie's Song."
 
The ten buck review: Worth ten bucks.