Love, Simon appears in an aspect ratio of approximately 2.39:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. This turned into a strong presentation.
Sharpness looked good. A few interiors came across as a smidgen soft, but these majority of the film demonstrated appropriate clarity.
No concerns with jagged edges or shimmering occurred, and edge enhancement remained absent. Source flaws also failed to create problems.
In terms of colors, Simon tended to stay with a light teal and amber palette. Within those constraints, the colors appeared pretty clear and concise.
Blacks were deep and firm, while shadows showed good delineation. Overall, this was a pleasing transfer.
I thought that the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack of Simon seemed fine but it didn’t excel because of a lack of ambition. Like most romantic comedies, the movie featured a limited soundfield that strongly favored the forward channels. It showed nice stereo spread to the music as well as some general ambience from the sides.
Panning was decent, and the surrounds usually kicked in basic reinforcement. A few scenes opened up better, though, such as those at a party or at a fair. However, most of the movie stayed with limited imaging.
Audio quality appeared good. Speech was natural and distinct, with no issues related to edginess or intelligibility. Effects sounded clean and accurate, with good fidelity and no signs of distortion.
Music was perfectly fine, as the score and songs showed positive dimensionality. This track was good enough for a “B-“ but didn’t particularly impress.
Among the set’s extras, we find an audio commentary from director Greg Berlanti, co-writer Isaac Aptaker and producer Isaac Klausner. All three sit together for a running, screen-specific look at the source novel and its adaptation, story/characters, music, editing, camerawork, sets and locations, influences, and related domains.
Expect a chatty, engaging track here that covers the movie well. The three participants interact in a smooth manner and help give us a lot of useful information about the film.
Two Deleted Scenes appear: “Lying to Abby” (1:58) and “Gay Bar” (5:53). The first expands Simon’s ruse to push Abby toward Martin, while the latter depicts Nick’s attempt to support Simon.
“Lying” entertains but seems redundant, as it gives us more than we need. “Bar” adds some to Simon’s post-coming-out life and seems interesting on its own, but it would’ve slowed down an already excessively long movie.
A few featurettes follow, as we launch with The Adaptation. This delivers a 10-minute, 41-second piece with info from Berlanti, Aptaker, producer Pouya Shahbazian, author Becky Albertalli, and actors Jennifer Garner, Keiynan Lonsdale, Katherine Langford, Josh Duhamel, Logan Miller, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Alexandra Shipp, Miles Heizer, and Nick Robinson.
As expected, we learn about the source novel and its move to the screen. It lacks a lot of depth.
With The Squad, we find a nine-minute, 46-second reel with Berlanti, Robinson, Shipp, Langford, Lendeberg, Miller, Shahbazian, and Albertalli. We learn about cast and characters in this fluffy reel.
#FirstLoveStory Contest Winner fills one minute, 34 seconds and shows a short film. It’s decent.
Two similar pieces follow: Dear Georgia (5:07) and Dear Atlanta (2:06). In these, we hear from Berlanti, Robinson, Langford, Shipp, Albertalli, Lonsdale, Garner, Duhamel, Lendeborg, Miller, and executive producer Timothy M. Bourne.
Both look at sets and locations. “Georgia” includes a few good details but “Atlanta” just acts as a promo reel.
A Gallery includes 24 still frames. These provide shots from the set and they become a mediocre compilation.
The disc opens with ads for The Greatest Showman, Maze Runner: The Death Cure and the novel Children of Blood and Bone. We also get two trailers for Simon.
A second disc provides a DVD copy of Simon. It includes the same extras as the Blu-ray.
At its best, Love, Simon can offer a breezing, charming tale of personal empowerment. However, the movie runs far too long for its own good and it seems too anonymous to really connect. The Blu-ray brings solid visuals along with adequate audio and supplements. Simon becomes a spotty update on the John Hughes formula.