'Love, Simon' Film & 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray Review

Love, Simon (2018) is based on Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda a highly successful award-winning young adult novel from back in 2015. In Love, Simon, we meet Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) a closed gay high school student who begins to email with "Blue," another gay student at his school who anonymously came out online. Simon and "Blue," neither of who know each other's true identities, begin to form a secret and anonymous online relationship. After Simon gets outed by another student at his school, he is left searching for "Blue's" true identity and having to repair some broken friendships.

Love, Simon (2018) is the most charming and delightful film I have seen in years. It is a heartwarming feel-good coming-of-age story that will stick with you long after it ends. I loved how the story presented Simon; he is very much your typical teenager. He has a supportive family that he actually likes and enjoys being around, and he has kind and supportive friends. It has become all too common for coming-of-age stories to have outlandish characters or characters who have significantly complex issues and upbringings, but that isn't the case with Love, Simon which was a breath of fresh air.

The film also shines from its outstanding characters and performances. Simon (Nick Robinson) and his core group of friends Leah (Katherine Langford), Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), and Abby (Alexandra Shipp) all have excellent chemistry together. I got the vide that their chemistry extended beyond the camera lens and that the four of them had a great time between takes as well. Then you have Simon's family mom (Jennifer Garner), dad (Josh Duhamel), and Simon's little sister Nora (Talitha Bateman) who again have a lovely chemistry together. Simon's family's caring and supportive nature played a big part in why this film has such a delight to watch.

The young adult novel the film was based on is the debut book from Becky Albertalli who wrote the story from her own high school experience here in Atlanta, GA. I am from Atlanta and live just a few miles from the suburb where Albertalli grew up and where she set the film. On top of being based here in Atlanta, the movie was also filmed here, which was a contributing factor to how much I loved the film. Many people outside of Atlanta don't realize it, but Atlanta has become the second Hollywood with hundreds of movies and TV shows filming here every year. The problem is, most of these films use Atlanta as another city, so it was very refreshing to see Atlanta represented as Atlanta on the big screen.

Love, Simon (2018) is one of those charming coming-of-age stories that anyone can enjoy. It doesn't matter if you are gay, straight, in high school, or older you will be able to enjoy this film. Love, Simon is easily one of my favorite movies of the year. I give Love, Simon a 9 out of 10.

Love, Simon (2018) is out now on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment. The 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray releases come packed full of excellent bonus features. One of the highlights is a feature called "The Adaptation" which explores how the novel was adapted into the film and the filmmakers discuss how important it was for the movie to stay true to Becky Albertalli's source material. Other highlights include two features called "Dear Atlanta" and "Dear Georgia" which talk about how great it was to film in the city the story was based in and dives into the booming Georgia film scene. These are just a few of the bonus features you will find on the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo packs, so pickup a copy today!

Love, Simon • Run time 1:50 • Rated PG-13 - for thematic elements, sexual references, language and teen partying