My friend, Adam, is straight. When I told him I loved Love simon he said “oH oF CoURsE yOu Do yoUre a LeSbIan AnD YoU LovE evErYthiNg gAy. thAt fiLm wAs SuCh a ClIChE GAy FiLm AboUt a ClOsEtEd KiD” I don’t think he understands just how much I, and all my gay friends related to the film. The plot may have seemed relatively simple and “cliche” to straight people, and I admit it was quite a simple plot, however it was the way it was executed that really made me relate to it. It was the way nick Robinson perfectly executed what it’s like to hear gay jokes from family members while trying not to make it obvious they make you uncomfortable, it’s the way simon panics whenever there may be a chance that his friends might find out he’s gay, it’s the way simon romanticises every male teenager who gives him attention, it’s the utter heartbreak in his eyes when his dad first walks away to process the information and the way simon avoids his family for a few days after, even the way he decides to tell Abby about him being gay before he tells Leah because he doesn’t know Abby as well as he knows Leah and Abby’s rejection would hurt less than Leah’s. So yeah maybe it is a pretty simple storyline, and maybe it does appear to be a “cliche gay story” but it still speaks to so many lgbt kids because of how realistic the portrayal of a closeted gay teen is. It’s so important because representation that isn’t the usual “oh yeah we’re both gay but we’re not main characters and we’re not going to show any on screen affection and we’re certainly not going to ever address this fact again ever because we need to keep this as straight as possible to get the views” representation is so important to closeted kids.