“Everyone deserves a great love story,” says Simon Spier, played by Nick Robinson, in the titular role of Love, Simon.

The film released on March 16th, flips the coming-of-age narrative on its head. Based off the young adult novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, the story begins with an anonymous user posting on the school gossip site about “being in the closet.” Simon, who is closeted as well and struggling to accept his own sexuality, begins an online relationship via email with the student and falls in love.

The cast is full of rich and diverse characters who each add their own unique aspect to the story that allows you to resonate with them. Simon’s friend group is colorful and relatable to the film’s audience with each actor bringing a different element to the narrative. When Simon describes them, they feel like friends, who drink too much iced coffee and eat too many carbs, but overall are there for each other no matter what. Their support for Simon on his journey is one of the moving features of Simon’s coming-out.

Nick Robinson also owns the character and portrays Simon beautifully. He is able to carry the heavy scenes in the film but still has the comedic edge. He is always on point, sharp, and present in the role. His performance of Simon was so emotional there was not an audience member who wasn’t either crying, applauding, or cheering him on at some point in the theater.

The most moving performance in the film is delivered by Jennifer Garner, who portrays Simon’s mother. Once Simon reveals to his family that he is gay, she has a sit-down with him. She reassures him that he is still her son that she loves dearly and this big reveal doesn’t change the way she sees him at all, which is a main concern for many LGBTQ+ individuals when they come out.

While it seems way overdue, this is the first mainstream teen movie of its genre to follow a boy coming out. One of the most important things about this film is the diversity and representation it brings to the big screen. The film gives LGBTQ+ teens a face and something to relate to in a society that still has some work to do with promoting acceptance, without it seeming like its main focus is Simon being gay; it has a much bigger message about acceptance and growing up.

It doesn’t demean the difficulty of coming-out but gives it a human, beautiful story that people no matter their age or sexuality would benefit from seeing. For further proof, main cast member, Keiynan Longsdale, even came out as a result of working on the film because he was that moved by the project. Giving queer teens a face and providing a diverse cast of many different backgrounds to relate to is the teen film we need, and have been waiting for.