The movie “Love, Simon” was released on March 16 with early screenings on March 10. Is this movie worth your time and money? Yes! Director Greg Berlanti did not disappoint his anticipating audience.

“Love, Simon” is a romantic comedy-drama about a teenager named Simon Spier, played by Nick Robinson, who is a senior in high school who struggles with telling people that he is gay. His biggest worry is that people will treat or think of him differently when he comes out. He wants to put this off until the end of school.

Like many teens, he and his family get along well. His sister, Nora, played by Talitha Bateman, has a good relationship with him, as do other members in his family. In scenes that show them together, they all act comfortable with each other, without any tension. They even make time each week to sit down and watch movies together as a family.

Likewise, he also has four best friends. His closest friend Leah, played by Katherine Langford who also starred in “13 Reasons Why,” has been his friend for thirteen years. They all like hanging out together, driving around, and getting iced-coffee. With this, the movie did a great job portraying how teens act.

After school one day Simon is on the school’s gossip blog reading a blog post by another closeted gay student who goes to his school. Simon initiates a conversation through email using a secret code name. Then they both go back and forth writing to each other anonymously. They begin to develop an online relationship after emailing each other every day after this. But eventually Simon’s secret is in jeopardy of becoming public. This rising action causes the rest of the movie to be a roller coaster of emotions.

Although the movie had heavy scenes, most of them were light-hearted and funny. This was a great balance to keep the audience interested.

The characters are multi-dimensional. This helped the emotional intensity of scenes. For instance, Simon’s dad, played by Josh Duhamel, has an emotional scene towards the end of the movie that is gut-wrenching and that contrasts his other scenes where he is relaxed while making light-hearted jokes. Simon’s character is also well-developed. It is surprising that Simon’s character is displayed as more than his sexuality. In so many movies, the gay character is just “the gay character.” Almost all of the character’s actions revolve around their sexuality. This choice makes movies significantly less appealing to the LGBTQ+ community. It shows that the writers have no understanding of their community. But the writers of “Love, Simon” thankfully do not do this.

The producers of this movie know very well what their audience will think and this makes it easy for the audience to place themselves in Simon’s shoes. He is easy to identify with. If Simon hates or loves a character, chances are the audience will too.

The choice to cast Nick Robinson as Simon was brilliant. He fit the role. He has an open and charismatic face. Because he looks approachable, you want him to be happy. He is friendly with most people, even those who aren’t friendly towards him. Therefore, placing yourself in his situation is super easy, even if you share nothing in common with him. By the end of the movie, you understand what someone who struggles with their identity feels like and goes through.

So be forewarned, if you are emotional, I recommend tissues!