Love, Simon: 5 Things The Movie Did Better (& 5 The Book Did Better)

Both Love, Simon and the book it is based on have things that each do better than the other, making neither one the clearly definitive experience.

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Love, Simon is one of those films that’s just designed to make the viewer feel good about life. Far too often, films and stories about LGBTQ+ people are marred by tragedy or trauma, but this film shows that it’s quite possible to tell a lovely little romance about two same sex teens without having them deal with death other wrenching tribulation. Small wonder that it’s one of the best of recent years and that it spawned a popular TV show.

Fans of the film no doubt know that it is based on a book and, as always in that case, it’s worth thinking about and looking at what each version of the story does better than the other.

10 Movie: His Mother’s Acceptance

There’s no question that Jennifer Garner is an amazing actress, and she always seems to exude a profound warmth and humanity. As Simon’s mother in the film, she truly shines, and the scene in which she tells Simon that he can finally breathe, that she will love him no matter what, is one of the most heartwarming in the entire film. It’s a reminder of the radical power of love and acceptance, particularly for members of the LGBTQ+ community.

9 Book: The Title

The title for the film is good enough as far as it goes, but there’s no question that the book’s title is significantly more clever. For those who don’t know, the full title is Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. It is, of course, a skewering of those who try to claim that the LGBTQ+ community has some sort of nefarious “agenda” that they are trying to impose on anyone who doesn’t agree with them. It’s a clever title, and it’s a shame that it didn’t translate over to the film.

8 Movie: The Final Romantic Scene

Everyone knows that what really makes a romance film succeed or fail is the romantic climax. While it’s pretty strong in the book, the film obviously has some pretty significant advantages. Part of this is just due to the emotional nature of the film experience, where the audience is sitting rapt in the theater, gazing at two young people in love.

The Ferris wheel scene is truly the stuff of which Hollywood dreams are made, and it’s a reminder that everyone deserves love and a happy ending. It’s what makes this film one of the best LGBTQ+ movies out there.

7 Book: More Understanding Of Simon’s Internal Thoughts

Just as film has some built-in advantages over books, it’s also true that the written word can do some things more effectively than the moving image. One of the key things that books do better is conveying the inner thoughts of characters. Obviously, characters in a film can’t express every one of their words out loud, but books can give a reader a truly in-depth look at what makes a character work, and Love, Simon is no exception. One truly gets to know Simon in the book, whereas he’s always at some remove in the film.

6 Movie: Simon’s Characterization

At the same time, it has to be pointed out that Simon emerges from the film as an incredibly charming and lovable young man. In large part, this stems from the charisma of the young actor chosen to play him, Nick Robinson. Somehow, he manages to capture all of the angst and stress of being a teenager in the 21st century, and by the end of the first scene with him it’s impossible not to like Simon and to want his story to end happily.

5 Book: More Emphasis On Simon’s Love Of Theater

In the film, it’s briefly alluded to that Simon has a love of theater, and this helps to add a new layer of complexity to his character and his motivations. In the novel, however, this is made much more explicit, and the viewer gets to appreciate just how much the musical theater means to him. The book also helps the reader to understand that Simon is also a big fan of Oreos. Both of these things add humanity and nuance to this already fascinating character.

4 Movie: The Dynamic Between Simon and Bram

Novels do many things well, but they don’t always excel at showing the powerful dynamism that exists between two romantic leads. This is especially true compared to the way that film can accomplish this, since the viewer is actually watching two actors who existed in the same space together while they were being filmed.

Thus it is that the film version of this story does a better job of showing the profound attraction that exists between Bram and Simon, and it leads to the audience truly wanting them to get back together.

3 Book: Martin Has More Depth

While there are many lovable and likable characters in the filmed version of the story, Martin is not one of those. This is the guy, after all, who was blackmailing Simon for his own benefit and ended up outing Simon to the entire school. While he does sort of redeem himself in the movie, it’s still very hard to like him, considering how much misery he caused through his own selfishness. In the novel, however, he’s given a bit more depth, and the reader isn’t led to dislike him quite as much.

2 Movie: Simon’s Dad

As with Jennifer Garner’s portrayal of Simon’s mother, Josh Duhamel is truly astounding as Simon’s father. It would have been very easy for the film to lean into the distant dad stereotype, but that’s not at all what the viewer gets. Instead, his father figure emerges as a man who genuinely loves his son and wants to understand him, even if he never entirely gets there. It’s a brilliantly nuanced performance, and a testament to Duhamel’s often underappreciated acting talents.

1 Book: More Believable High School

Obviously, the film and the book are both very immersed in the cutthroat world of high school (never an easy time for anyone, and hard to realistically capture in film). The film does a pretty good job painting this milieu, though it stumbles a bit since several of the cast are obviously in their twenties rather than in their teens. The book, by contrast, really does immerse the reader in this world, letting them understand the many things go into being a high school student.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/love-simon-movie-vs-book/