skygiants

and the girl in the row next to me who sat up during the scene where Simon's dad awkwardly but endearingly expresses how much he loves and supports him and whispered, "that's MY dad!"

That's so endearing I wanna cry! I too have not read the book and feel like that was probably the better choice, though I might track it down now. It was such a sweet movie to see with an enthusiastic audience.