Love, Simon (2018)

This was a great book and the film is equally as excellent. Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) is a typical high school senior who believes that he is just like everyone else, which isn't entirely true, I didn't get a car on my sixteenth birthday but whatever. However, unlike me, Simon has a huge secret and one that he believes will change everything, also not true. He's gay and no one knows, especially not Leah (Katherine Langford) one of his best friends who he has known since kindergarten as Leah is falling in love with Simon.
The plot kicks into gear when the school's gossip blog confirms that the high school has one closest gay kid and Simon forms a secret online relationship with him. Both are closeted and relatively scared and frightened to come out and both really start to like each other. And then the awkward kid, Martin (Logan Miller), who really is, okay, well, he could be a nice person but he accidentally sees the emails and uses it to blackmail Simon to get Simon to set him up with the new girl, Abby (Alexandra Shipp) who is crushing hard on Simon's other best friend, Nick (Jorge Lendeborg, Jr). Yeah, this is an interesting love hexagon.
But in one of the most embarrassing moments ever on screen, Martin interrupts the singing of the National Anthem and professes his love for Abby and it backfires so he posts the screenshots of the private emails between Simon and his mystery man.
Fortunately, Simon has great parents in Jack and Emily (Josh Duhamel and Jennifer Garner) who are pretty understanding and Jack apologizes for all those jokes he has make throughout the years in one of the best father-son scenes in cinematic history and the best scene of Duhamel's career. But his friends are pissed, as they have every right to be and some of the other kids at school aren't nearly so kind but the awesome drama teacher, Ms. Albright (Natasha Rothwell) puts them promptly in their place.
And finally, Simon posts his own blog, urging his online crush to come forward as life is always better when you have someone to share it with. And, at the eleventh hour, Bram (Kelynan Lonesdale) comes forward as the email buddy and they do fall in love. Nick and Abby start dating and Leah is eventually okay with Simon's homosexuality and things are just as they always were, getting coffee every morning before school and coming up with interesting costumes for Halloween.
Overall, the film is solid, with great performances from both veterans and newcomers and though there are many characters, the personalities nevertheless come across on the screen, which is rare. And there is mid-film musical number for on good reason which is just great. Everyone, please go rent this film. Grade: A-