Oh hi!
There's a moment in the film Love, Simon where the title character sits by himself
on a ferris wheel hopeful that the guy he's fallen in love with through email will finally
show his face.
It's cinematic, and ends in a first kiss as only a romantic comedy can, and it absolutely
doesn't happen in the book.
Not that that's a bad thing.
As with any adaptations there are things that need to be changed, should be changed, and
matters of taste.
Today we're going to discuss some of the differences between the book and film and
whether they were beneficial or not.
The plot of Love, Simon and the book it was based on Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda,
are generally similar.
That is our protagonist, Simon Spier, has a secret.
He's gay.
Shocker!
After a fellow anonymous classmate posts on the school's Tumblr that they are also gay,
he starts an email correspondence with him and soon falls in love.
Meanwhile, another classmate named Martin, stumbles upon these emails after Simon forgets
to log out on a school computer.
Martin decides to blackmail Simon in the hope that he can date the new girl Abby.
So that basic plot is the same.
It's the specifics that are changed.
In fact the last half of the book is so different from the movie that it changes some of the
themes of the story.
The appearance of the Dalkes was definitely a surprise.
Before we get there, though, let's discuss the key similarities between the book and
film.
Number one, Simon is kind of bland.
And this feels really mean to say.
But there's not a whole lot of turmoil that Simon goes through.
In both book and movie Simon explicitly says that he knows his family is going to be fine
with him coming out.
He knows his friends will be OK with it as well.
Because of that there is no inherent suspense.
Don't get me wrong, coming out is still not a simple thing but if there was even a
shred of a chance that he felt like he wasn't able to then it would have added to the story.
More than that he's liked by most everyone, he has a great relationship with his parents
and sisters, and he's a fairly good student.
There's nothing there that makes it feel like a real struggle.
I mean except for the blackmail.
I guess I shouldn't forget about the blackmail.
Regardless, the fact that Simon is sort of bland permeates both book and movie.
The second similarity is that they keep the idea that Bram and Simon are interacting via
email.
If you want a fancy $5 word that you can say the book is sort of an epistolatory novel.
At least it's half like that.
Epistolatory is the name they give to books that are written as if characters are writing
letters back and forth.
Dracula is probably the best example of this.
In this case, it's just the 21st century update.
Just with … less vampires.
It's a conceit that works really well in the book.
You can see the time stamp at the beginning of their emails.
You can beautifully see how the relationship grows over time.
First with them being nervous and then eventually them feeling very safe with one another.
I thought that in the movie it doesn't work as well.
In much the same way as talking with an author about their process is much more interesting
than watching somebody write.
Which now that I think of it, maybe launching that new YouTube channel called Watch People
Write Emails was not the best of ideas.
The book uses multiple different actors as the "voice" of the unseen boyfriend.
But it gives the wrong impression that this is exactly who the person writing to Simon
is.
At least at first.
I think by just having text on the page it gives it more mystery as to who it could be,
so that when it is revealed it truly is a shock.
Emo Phillips!
Who would have guessed?
That's a joke.
I have to say quickly, this is number 3, that I'm glad they kept Bram as a black character.
Yes, this is partly me signalling how woke I am.
But occasionally you'll still see book adaptations where they change people's ethnicities for
no apparent reason.
They definitely could have done that here and they chose not to, which I commend them
for.
Let's get into the differences.
I mentioned before how I felt that the last half of the book and film are entirely different.
To the point where they feel like different stories.
I discussed Call Me By Your Name last month.
While there are certainly differences between the book and film.
There are things left out and characters that are combined.
But it was still, essentially, the same story.
In Love, Simon although the end is the same how they get there drastically changes the
themes and the message.
Here are just a few of the things that happen in the book: Simon goes to a gay bar where
he gets drunk instead of just a house party.
Leah is not shown to be attracted to him.
Simon has an older sister.
Martin almost completely disappears after blackmailing Simon, only showing up to write
an email and to be seen briefly as Simon walks past a car.
Leah and Nora are in a band.
And we get to see Simon and Bram's relationship in more detail.
What is hammered home is how much Simon doesn't want to change the personal dynamics between
himself and his friends and family.
He wants to be able to be himself without announcing to the world that something is
different.
I would argue this is the main theme of the book.
Whereas the movie is really focused on the blackmail and how Simon overcomes that by
accepting himself as he is.
Early on in the book there's this passage.
Which I completely relate to.
Especially with people who you have known for years.
Maybe you change your opinion on something.
You stop drinking coffee.
You enjoy the gentle caress of a man.
You need to make a statement that this is the new you when it doesn't necessarily
feel like it warrants that.
You are still you but for a small thing.
But Simon's mother has a great counterpoint to that.
Near the end of the book she says...
It's great to see that parental love so fully realized.
Simon is guilty of this as well.
When it's revealed that Nora and Leah are in a band he asks why nobody told him.
And Nick responds, "because you would have made a big deal."
This is a specifically human reaction to these types of small revelations and I'm not sure
I've ever seen a story try to tackle that topic before.
Really by the end Simon is realizing that these tiny changes aren't a burden but something
to celebrate.
That each of us have unique quirks that make us, us.
The final passage of the book is about Simon introducing his boyfriend Bram to his parents.
He's finally come around to truly revealing all the aspects of himself.
Last thing, and it's a small nitpick, I'm curious why the book uses Oliver! as the school
musical that Simon is in and the film uses Cabaret.
I'm guessing it's a rights issue thing, but I'm still curious.
So, what works better?
I think the movie, quite rightly, made the group of friends much tighter and therefore
when the blackmail is revealed it does feel like betrayal.
In the book it's revealed and resolved within a chapter and so it doesn't carry as much
weight.
I also liked how they treated the character of Martin better in the movie.
It's suggested in the novel, but it's made more plainly in the film that this is
a guy who definitely made the wrong decision in blackmailing someone but he isn't this
terrible monster of villain.
He's human and is comfortable with himself.
Which is more than Simon can say.
For everything else the book does a far better job of delving into the characters because
it has the time to and the themes can be expanded upon.
But here's the bad thing that I need to admit to.
While I don't find either the book or movie bad, I also don't find them great.
The kernel of the story is interesting to me, and the themes it explores feel new, but
I need a more interesting, or perhaps flawed, main character to really feel drawn in.
And this is not a knock on Young Adult literature.
I'm a big fan of a lot of it.
I mean I've read every John Green book and I loved his latest Turtles All the Way Down.
So it's not the genre that turns me off.
Even with me saying that, I think that it is important to tell LGBTQ+ stories.
I think it's good to include that in Young Adult novels.
I just wanted more.
I wanted something that was more than an OK story.
But I could be wrong.
What did you like?
What didn't you like?
Do you prefer the book or the movie?
Why am I so old that I can't enjoy anything?
Let me know down in the comments below.
Thank you so much for watching!
My name is Kyle.
I upload videos every Monday and Thursday.
Liking, commenting, and subscribing do help, but if you want to support me even more you
can do so by becoming a Patreon supporter for $1 per month.
Now I need to look to see the next book and movie comparison to make.
Was Super Troopers 2 adapted from a book?
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