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'How many straight rom-coms do we need?': Jim Parsons fiercely defends 'Love, Simon.'

How many romantic comedies starring straight couples have been made since the dawn of time?

A thousand? A million? There have been a lot!

Americans haven't suffered from a straight rom-com shortage since rom-coms became a thing — "Annie Hall" in 1977, "The Apartment" in 1960, or maybe even "It Happened One Night" way back in 1934.

Rarely do you hear complaints from moviegoers about Hollywood churning out too many of them.

Which is why Jim Parsons has had it.

Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images.

The actor visited "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on May 7 to promote a reboot of the gay-themed Broadway show "The Boys in The Band." As the conversation veered into the need for more LGBTQ representation in theater, film, and beyond, Parsons revealed one thing that irked him about the criticism aimed at the film "Love, Simon" earlier this year.

The teen rom-com — the genre's first to star a gay lead while also boasting a big budget — was dinged by some critics for arriving in theaters about a decade too late. "'Love, Simon' Is a Groundbreaking Gay Movie," one headline announced, "But Do Today's Teens Actually Need It?"

According to Parsons, the answer is a resounding yes.

The wide release of "Love, Simon" meant an LGBTQ-themed movie for teens was in most movie theaters across the country. That's never happened before. And for a gay kid in, say, small-town Kansas, that matters.

As Parsons explained:

"I read a couple of articles that were essentially saying – I loved ['Love, Simon'], by the way — but there were a couple articles that were like, 'That's too late.' ... That we're beyond this now — the kind of tale of coming out that this was. And I thought, 'Maybe if you're a 30-something writer living in New York or L.A. it may be like, 'I don't need to see this,' obviously. But I don't know – I think there are people in many other places that, yes, you do still need to see it."

Parsons then pointed out how absurd it is to argue a gay rom-com is "too late" to make a meaningful difference when no one holds straight rom-coms to the same standard:

"Never mind the fact [they're saying] 'a gay rom-com — it's too late.' Well, tell that to 'When Harry Met Sally,' you know? Which was brilliant, but I'm saying, 'How many straight rom-coms do we need? When is it too late for them?' You know?"

Check out the interview below.

Parsons begins talking about "Love, Simon," at about the 7-minute mark.

He's not wrong, is he?

We often eat up straight rom-coms faster than the popcorn kernels in our buttery palms without thinking twice about their relevance to the social consciousness of the day.

Yet with rom-coms featuring marginalized lovebirds, there seems to be a different standard. Did "Love, Simon" explore queerness in a positive way? Was it relatable enough for LGBTQ teens? Was it timely enough to make a difference? Did it revolutionize the fight for LGBTQ equality in 1 hour and 50 minutes of screen time?!

This is exactly why we need more rom-coms featuring LGBTQ people from all walks of life — people of color, people of minority faiths, disabled people, and everyone else. That way, the few films featuring marginalized people that do get made won't bear the brunt of cramming the experiences of an entire group into one trip to the movies.

Or, as Parsons quipped, to laughs: "Let me get sick of too many gay rom-coms, then, thank you very much. Bring it on."

'Love, Simon' star, on being bullied, fan reactions, and one horrible audition.

Joey Pollari says he was almost certain he didn't get the part in blockbuster teen film "Love, Simon."

During the audition, he embarrassingly mispronounced a word, stumbled nervously through his lines, and came dressed looking the part of the role he was auditioning for: a Waffle House employee. He was the only actor auditioning who did so.

It appears the waiter look didn't end up hurting his chances too much, though. The 23-year-old from Minnesota landed the role of "Lyle" in "Love, Simon" — Greg Berlanti's groundbreaking film based on Becky Albertalli's 2015 bestselling novel, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda."

[rebelmouse-image 19532209 dam="1" original_size="500x181" caption="Pollari as Lyle (the Waffle House worker) in "Love, Simon." GIF via "Love, Simon."" expand=1]Pollari as Lyle (the Waffle House worker) in "Love, Simon." GIF via "Love, Simon."

In the film, Lyle plays a potential love interest to Simon, and there's a real possibility he's also "Blue" — a pseudonym for the gay classmate Simon is corresponding with romantically online.

"Love, Simon" is Hollywood's first major studio-produced teen rom-com featuring a gay lead.

Its big budget and wide release meant most young LGBTQ people across the country could see "Simon" at their local theater. That's never been the case with an LGBTQ-themed movie for teens before.

While the film opened to modest box office results after its March 16 premiere, a top rating from Cinemascore, rave reviews, and successful word-of-mouth slowly turned "Love, Simon" into a success in more ways than one.

For Pollari — who came out as gay at age 18, and had experienced bullying because of his sexual orientation — the film's themes hit especially close to home.

Photo by Luke Fontana.

I sat down with Pollari to discuss the film's success, positive fan reactions, and the audition fail that totally wasn't.

On the moment it truly sunk in that "Simon" was a film like no other:

I probably learned it way too late. [laughs] I think it wasn’t until I saw the movie in a pre-screening that I thought, "Oh, this is weird, isn’t it? I’m watching a gay narrative on a major studio lot. 20th Century Fox made this. No one had to strong-arm them into getting it made, and it’s not fringe." That’s when it really hit me and dawned on me that a big step was being made.

On his personal similarities to — and differences with — Simon:

Our stories are somewhat related, in that the environment was productive for coming out — and by that, I mean supportive. But Simon and I were pretty different, I would say. I was a pretty fabulous kid. [laughs] I don’t think many people were surprised [to learn I was gay]. So that experience was different. I got bullied here and there for people thinking that I was gay. I see myself in Simon, but I see myself in Ethan, too, [actor] Clark Moore’s character.

On "Love, Simon's" impressive word-of-mouth heating up the box office:

It’s really nice that people are responding to it and want to go see it again, and are telling someone else to go see it. It shows that the people really want this movie and they want their friends to see it.

If we’re looking at it in an industry sense and financial sense, it’s doing really well, and maybe will help support more [LGBTQ-themed] movies getting made.

Photo by Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images.

On fans reacting to the historic nature of the film:

A couple people have reached out — more than a couple — saying they either came out [as LGBTQ] because of the movie, or expressing their gratitude. You know, feeling appreciative they can see themselves in any way, shape, or form on the big screen.

Or, older people reaching out and saying, "I wish I had this movie when I was a teenager, but I’m happy to have it now." People have been really generous with it. I think that’s been the coolest part of the whole experience — how people have been responding to it.

On thinking he totally botched his audition for "Love, Simon":

I thought the whole thing was a stumble through. [laughs] I was the only one dressed in something that resembled a Waffle House uniform. I was like, "I’m so stupid, wearing this stupid uniform." It was a hat and collared shirt, tucked into pants. And I was there and thought, "You are such a nerd." [laughs] "Why are you here?"

I went to the audition thinking I was just going to be me during it. And then I was really being me when I pronounced "Hanukkah" wrong. I was nervous. It was a whole thing. I called my manager afterward and was like, "Well, that’s one for the books, onto the next!"

SPOILER QUESTION AND ANSWER BELOW.

On fans hoping Lyle was really Blue at the end of the film:

I did have some people who were rooting for Lyle to be up there on the Ferris wheel. Mostly my family, to be completely honest. [laughs]

Check out Joey Pollari — in all of his Waffle House uniform glory — in a trailer for "Love, Simon," below:

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.

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'Love, Simon' is a gloriously gay rom-com that deserves your attention.

Standing in a buzzing movie theater lobby, 21-year-old Ashley Kessler flips her phone around excitedly so I can see the screen.

There are pics on pics on pics capturing the two times she's already seen the film "Love, Simon" at advanced screenings. Her smiley, scruffy dad standing by her side proudly points out a photo of actor Nick Robinson, who stars in the lead role, at an event for the film's premiere. Clearly, they're big fans.

Tonight — March 16, the movie's official opening day — marks Kessler's third trip to experience Hollywood history in the making. "It’s really, really good," she says of the film, grinning.

Dozens of young people just like Kessler are crowded around us, anxiously waiting to see Simon Spier’s love story play out on the big screen. And I'm finally seeing with my own two eyes what all the fuss is about.

The gay hype, I've decided, is justified.

[rebelmouse-image 19345878 dam="1" original_size="750x563" caption="Author Becky Albertalli signs copies of "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" in New York the night "Love, Simon" is released in theaters. Photo by Robbie Couch/Upworthy." expand=1]Author Becky Albertalli signs copies of "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" in New York the night "Love, Simon" is released in theaters. Photo by Robbie Couch/Upworthy.

"Love, Simon" — which follows a closeted high schooler who falls hard for a classmate he's met anonymously online — marks the first time a major studio teen rom-com has featured a gay lead. Other LGBTQ-themed movies have come before it, of course. But those films were either aimed at adults or created with smaller budgets for niche audiences (and oftentimes both).

"Love, Simon" has broken the mold.

"I can hardly wrap my head around it," says Becky Albertalli, author of the 2015 young adult novel "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda," which inspired the film. "Nobody — especially not me — ever thought this book was going to blow up. Nobody ever thought this book would be a movie."

But Albertalli's work of fiction became a trailblazing best-seller. And now its dedicated fans — like the ones here, in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood on the movie's official opening day — are eagerly filling theater seats to eat up buttery popcorn and Hollywood's version of Simon's tale.

The movie is hilarious and heartfelt in all the right places. But the truly remarkable ingredient in Simon's success is that, for the first time, young LGBTQ people in virtually every corner of the country have access to a same-sex love story made specifically for them.

"It would have been incredible to have a movie like this when I was that age," says 30-year-old Ruben Gloria, who's "as gay as it gets" and holding a signed copy of Albertalli's book in the theater lobby.

"A lot of my friends identity as LGBT," says Kessler. "And they are so happy to see [a character] that's like them."

Photo by Ben Rothstein/20th Century Fox Film Corporation.

But the movie's wide-release, while certainly worth celebrating, also highlights his relatively sanitized circumstances.

Albertalli's lead character is a white, cisgender teen who comes from a doting family nestled in the suburbs. Would his story have gotten a big-budget treatment had Simon been black? What if he'd been femme? Transgender?

Findings from a 2017 report by GLAAD — which discovered LGBTQ characters (and especially characters of color) are still underrepresented — suggests "Love, Simon" may have been a tougher sell to Hollywood executives if any of those variables had been the case.

Even Albertalli makes sure to point out further inclusivity is needed in the stories we create for young LGBTQ people from all walks of life. "There needs to be more and more different types of stories coming from the communities that they’re about," she notes, hoping "Simon" — whose story she first envisioned in 2013 — will help open doors for others down the road.

Still. The closet door Simon burst through is a big one.

20th Century Fox hasn't downplayed his gayness, as movie studios often do with LGBTQ films. It's actually emphasizing the movie's queer elements through a hyper-localized marketing blitz spanning several cities across the country.

Most American teens can see "Love, Simon" at their local theater. The same wasn't true for other recent, queer coming-of-age films released on smaller stages, like 2016's "Moonlight" or 2017's "Call Me By Your Name." That especially matters in regions like the South and Midwest where, according to Albertalli, more kids may need reminding that it's OK to be gay.

One of the film's producers, Wyck Godfrey, told Entertainment Weekly that the studio tested the film in America's heartland months ago to be sure its LGBTQ themes would still resonate with theatergoers nationwide. They did.

"We got to [the climax], and the entire theater broke out into applause," Godfrey said of an advanced screening in Kansas. The film's director, Greg Berlanti, teared up over the theater's positive response.

Photo by Ben Rothstein/20th Century Fox Film Corporation.

Some have argued, however, kids these days may not need stories like Simon's as much as liberal adults believe they do. How groundbreaking is this film, really?

It's 2018, after all. An expanding, streaming TV landscape flaunts many more LGBTQ characters and queer storylines than 10 or 20 years ago. Young adult literature has begun responding to demands that it further diversify its authors, stories, and characters.

"[Teens] don’t need this movie," wrote Time magazine's Daniel D'Addario, who argues the film would have made bigger waves in pre-gay marriage America. "Will they look up from Netflix to notice that it has premiered?"

The full and emotionally charged theater I'm sitting in on premiere night suggests they will.

[rebelmouse-image 19345881 dam="1" original_size="750x499" caption=""Love, Simon" fans pack a theater for an event in January held in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images for 20th Century Fox." expand=1]"Love, Simon" fans pack a theater for an event in January held in Atlanta, Georgia. Photo by Moses Robinson/Getty Images for 20th Century Fox.

I hear gasps, laughs, "awws," and teary sniffles peppered throughout the movie. The audience — much like they did seven states away in Kansas, months ago — cheers loudly as a final revelation is realized in the closing minutes. When the theater lights come on, eyes are watery and hearts are full.

Of course young people still need a story like Simon's.

Albertalli wishes she could share her email inbox — home to many messages from readers who've been touched by her book — with those who believe otherwise. "The reaction these teens are having to this film," she says, "they’re not being blasé about it."

In this theater on opening night, those emails have sprung into real life. Surrounded by delighted young people eager to see a version of themselves on screen, Albertalli understands what a difference Simon has made.

Everyone deserves a love story, as Simon tells moviegoers. And until everyone has one, stories like his still matter.