Love, Simon is a 2018 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Greg Berlanti and based on the novel "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli. The movie centers around Simon Spier, a closeted gay high school boy who struggles to balance his friends, family, and his secret identity. Simon finds a soulmate in an online blog and they communicate anonymously with each other for a few weeks. Simon is falling in love with this person but doesn’t know who he is. Then one of his ‘friends’, Martin, who has been blackmailing him by threatening to ‘out’ him in public, does the unthinkable and publishes all of Simon’s emails. Simon panics but discovers who his real friends are and what they value most about him. The film received positive reviews from critics who praised the performances, tone, writing, humor, themes, emotional depth, and representation, with reviews comparing it to the romantic comedy-drama films of John Hughes. Love, Simon is notable as the first film by a major Hollywood studio to focus on a gay teenage romance, and it grossed $66 million worldwide. The movie has a lot of sexual references and some nudity and sexual activity, but it is positive and affirming, with messages of courage, integrity, and empathy.