"Love, Simon" is an Atlanta story, based on a novel by an Atlanta writer, set in Atlanta, and shot in Atlanta, so it's no surprise that when there's a revelatory scene in a restaurant, it's staged in a Waffle House.
In fact, Waffle House became a sort of headquarters for the cast and crew during the 30-day shoot, though male lead Nick Robinson, the Simon of “Love, Simon,” isn’t fluent in the hash brown menu yet.
“Chopped, diced, sliced, mixed, cubed? I should be able to say it,” said Robinson. “I ate a lot of them. Maybe I blacked out afterward.”
Credit: Photo Credit: Ben Rothstein
Credit: Photo Credit: Ben Rothstein
Robinson plays 16-year-old Simon Spier, a buttoned-down high school junior who has been, as his mother (played by Jennifer Garner) says, holding his breath all his life, waiting to exhale.
That moment comes when he impulsively corresponds on a local list-serve with a person called “Blue,” who has also been living life in a lonely disguise.
The story is a coming-out romance for a closeted teenager. It's based on the young adult novel "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," written by Atlanta psychologist Becky Albertalli.
It is unique, in that it acknowledges that gay teenagers exist. That they can fall in love. That their ups and downs can provide the material for the same kind of teen comedies that John Hughes took to the bank numerous times, with “Sixteen Candles” and “Breakfast Club” and many others.
The fact that a gay teen romantic comedy is opening in Georgia while the Legislature is pushing along a bill to limit the ability of gay couples to adopt is not lost on director Greg Berlanti. The powerhouse television producer, who had 11 shows on the air last year (including "Supergirl," "Riverdale," "The Flash" and "Black Lightning," which is also shot in Atlanta), said, "I have some very personal feelings about that."
Berlanti spoke in a suite at the St. Regis Atlanta, in Buckhead, where he, Robinson and Alexandra Shipp (who plays fellow high school student Abby, and will be Storm in the upcoming "X-Men: Dark Phoenix") have gathered for a few round-robin interviews.
While shooting the movie in Atlanta, “I was here with my husband and my child,” said Berlanti. “And we were never greeted with any form of discrimination anywhere that we went. … We were really welcomed, and I believe the hearts and minds of Georgia (are) very open.”
Berlanti noted that the bill hasn’t been signed into law, and said, “Hopefully, the better angels in everyone prevails, and that sort of discrimination doesn’t succeed.”
Despite the convictions of legislators, Berlanti and the producers are confident that the movie will appeal to the sensibilities of average Americans. It is opening wide on Friday, March 16, appearing in 2,500 theaters, accompanied by a marketing campaign with the tagline “Everyone deserves a great love story.”
During a preview in Atlanta, two middle-school-aged girls walked out of the theater at Phipps Plaza and confessed to each other that the movie’s poignant moments made them cry.
“I think the goal of the film is to have people have an emotional experience with it, so I’m glad to hear that there were people coming out, well, crying,” said Robinson.
The reserved Simon finally wears his emotions on his sleeve at the denouement. Until that moment, he remains guarded, even in a fantasy dance sequence when he imagines a possible future life as an open and honest gay college student in California.
That scene is a Bob Fosse spectacle, with a crowd of exuberant dancers, leaping and spinning, and at the center a somewhat inhibited Simon, not turning completely footloose.
One guesses that Simon’s reserve might reflect the upper boundary of Robinson’s dancing skills. “In my defense,” said Robinson, laughing, “those were 200 highly trained choreographed professional dancers, and my training was limited.”
But Berlanti said the scene is just right. “It was designed, I think, to show you the exuberant person inside him that wants to come out. I think it’s the perfect metaphor for Simon.”
MOVIE PREVIEW
“Love, Simon”
Opening Friday
Starring Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel and Tony Hale. Directed by Greg Berlanti.
Rated PG-13 for for thematic elements, sexual references, language and teen partying. 1 hour, 49 minutes.
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