What happens when you watch a trailer on YouTube assuming it’s a film and like it, only to realize it is a series? You watch it anyway.
So I finished watching all ten episodes of the new series ‘Love, Victor’, which is a spin-off of the film ‘Love, Simon’. And it’s super cute. Too cute for comfort.
The adorable Michael Cimino plays Victor, a teen who has shifted to a new city with his family. He is hoping to start a new life and come out of the closet to embrace his sexuality. But instead, he decides it’s safe to go out with the sweetest girl on the campus – Mia.
I don’t understand why we are still making movies/series with the same damn plot – closeted gay guy tries to date a girl, claims he really loves her, only to realize his dick doesn’t agree. Sorry for the crass term. But I cannot think of a better way to write that!
Despite the cliched, stale plot, ‘Love, Victor’, thanks to a charming cast, manages to keep the viewer hooked and interested in its story. Everything is justified neatly and believably. It’s a pretty breezy series, with none of the usual high-school excesses that other teen-themed productions usually succumb to. The bullying is very mild and the ‘drama’ is in acceptable degrees. The background score is very upbeat, catchy and in sync with the plot.
Every character has something redeemable about them. However, some of them are not fleshed out well. Like Victor’s gay crush Benji, played by George Sear. He doesn’t have a lot of screen-time and we are just given small cues to believe that he is a hottie with a golden heart. I loved the fact that there is no villain in this story. The only antagonists you will ever see on screen are the characters’ own insecurities.
Creators Isaac Aptaker and Elizabeth Berger manage to keep most things real but also play a little too safe. Which makes ‘Love, Victor’ a total fun family series. They end it with a BIG cliffhanger, so there better be a season two.