Revisit the first major Hollywood film to feature a gay teenager.
By Michael Hartmann. December 2, 2022. Updated, December 3, 2022.
The Swedish television drama Young Royals has everyone’s attention. However, gay romance on television hasn’t arrived on its own. Let’s revisit a movie that may have influenced the shows we enjoy today.
Love, Simon revolves around Simon Spier, a closeted gay teenager in high school. Trying to balance friends, family, and the blackmailer who is threatening to expose him to the entire school, he has a hard time managing everything.
Nick Robinson from Seattle, Washington, plays Simon. Here’s the trailer:
Simon communicates with a student who calls himself “Blue”. Simon calls himself “Jacques”. Their emails are discovered by Martin, another student at the school. By posting Simon’s emails on the school’s gossip website, Martin outs Simon.
What if Simon’s friends had to “come out” as heterosexuals? Funny moment alert!
Molly Freeman of Screen Rant stated that “Love, Simon is a funny, heartfelt, and truly touching teen romantic comedy that instantly becomes a modern classic for today’s generation”.
The film was an unprecedented success. It was released in the United States in 2018 by 20th Century Fox. As the first film by a major Hollywood studio to depict a gay teen romance, it grossed $66 million worldwide. Wow!
In addition, it became the 15th highest-grossing teen romance since 1980. It was unimaginable that this could happen.
Following the film’s release, celebrities like Jennifer Garner, Matt Bomer, Tyler Oakley, and several others bought out theaters and offered free screenings of the film. This is because they believe it conveys a crucial message.
Because Robinson saw the cultural significance of the film, he broke his own rule about not playing high schoolers.
No one can diminish the success of Love, Simon. Movie industry producers have probably been convinced that gay movies can be profitable. Four years after the film’s premiere, Love, Simon Official Trailer 2 has been viewed over 30 million times on YouTube.
Here it is:
In 2020, Hulu, premiered Love, Victor, a series based on the film, with Robinson serving as the series’ narrator for the first season. By itself, that tells us everything about the film’s impact. And Simon? – Everyone deserves a great love story!
Here’s the official soundtrack. It has 13 tracks, including 4 songs from American rock band Bleachers. Enjoy!
What do you think of Love, Simon? Which scenes are your favorites? If you haven’t seen it yet, find it here:Hulu.
Stay tuned for my upcoming story about Love, Victor!
Follow Nick Robinson on Instagram.
Related story: A stellar soundtrack complements the return of Young Royals
