Released on March 17th, 2018, “Love, Simon” was an instant hit. This film is centered around a high school boy who is “…totally, perfectly normal…” and “…just like you,” as said in the narration by the main character, Simon, at the beginning of the movie. This description could be used as what the film is like, but that would be a complete understatement.

This film is exactly what this world needs right now. A coming of age, yet still comedic, film that centers around a boy who knows he is gay, but has yet to come out to anybody. He begins anonymously emailing another anonymous boy at his high school who is also gay, and the journey he must go through with turns his whole idea of a normal life upside down to publicly be who he really is.

This movie is incredible. Yes, it is serious at times, with his coming out being forced upon him by another classmate, and telling his family, and the struggles he comes face-to-face with. However, it was still a teen movie, a romantic-comedy of sorts, that deals with LGBTQ+ characters.

There has been criticism that this is not the movie this teen generation needs, but that should not even be in question. Why is the idea of a heterosexual lead falling in love with an anonymous member of the opposite sex a perfectly good movie idea, but as soon as it is two males, it is unnecessary? That is exactly why this film is so incredible and so imperative for this age group, as well as older viewers. This movie should be mainstream and taken without a second thought that a teen movie can have a lead, or any character, for that matter, that is a member of the LGBTQ+ community without having to sneak around that fact.

“Love, Simon” is the perfect example of a popular movie that has characters who are not the Orthodox teen boy falls in love with teen girl; sure, the romantic part of this story is similar, and that is the best part. This story could still be popular with a girl in place of Simon’s anonymous pen pal, but it is not, it is another boy. This movie showing that being gay is as normal as being straight is amazing, and the raw reality of his coming out to his friends and family makes it even better.