Tru Loved
Why is it that most films try to beat us over the head when they are trying to tell us something? The term "message movie" was invented specifically for these because they usually don’t fit into any other genre because the message is the sole purpose. However, every once in a great while we are treated to a film that actually puts the entertainment ahead of the message and gets it all right. Welcome to Tru Loved.
Gertrude (Najarra Townsend) -- or Tru as everyone calls her -- has two sets of parents: her mother is a lesbian and her father is also gay. Each parent raises her with their respective partner. Tru has just moved with her mothers to a new school, which upon first look appears to be one of the least gay-friendly places in California, and quickly begins to date the star quarterback. She suddenly becomes welcomed into the popular clique and everything is going well until she realizes that her boyfriend is actually in the closet and using her to cement his heterosexual status.
The film deals with many issues including what it’s like to grow up when kids in school know you have gay parents, the fear of coming out of the closet, gay marriage and also homophobia. Rather than being preachy, writer-director Stewart Wade ("Coffee Date") makes sure to include a healthy dose of laughter into many of the situations and presenting well rounded characters that we can get behind.
Along with delivering a touching script, Wade also mastered the ability of getting the best performances from his cast. One of the refreshing things about the comedic sensibility of the film is that it’s not finding the jokes so much in the actual dialogue, but rather how the actors deliver them and in the characters themselves. Not being able to inject comedy into some of the heavier scenes is alleviated by enough good jokes being spread throughout to keep the film balanced.
Having well-written characters only goes so far, but casting competent actors who can go the extra step is what really sets "Tru Loved" apart. Assembling a cast that includes Jasmine Guy, Bruce Vilanch, Jane Lynch, Alexandra Paul, Alec Mapa and Nichelle Nichols takes the film to the next level.
Most of the known actors have smaller or bit parts in the film leaving the majority of the work to the trio of young actors to shoulder. As Tru, the 18-year-old Townsend has to walk a fine line and pulls it off spendidly, giving a performance that some actors wait their entire careers to give. Unlike Townsend, Matthew Thompson doesn’t fare so well as the closeted high school quarterback. He spends half the movie looking like he’s concentrating on what he is supposed to be doing instead of letting the acting come naturally.
The locale of the film is in Southern California, but it seems to be in an almost euphoric place. It may be true that teenagers might be able to accept a friend as being gay even though they themselves are homophobic and it might be true that a gay-straight alliance at a high school would instantly become a must-attend club for the students at a school where there was only one known out student. But you must draw the line of believability when half of the school faculty would be invited to the commitment ceremony of a student’s mothers -- especially when the faculty adviser for the GSA isn’t among them.
If you can get past the idealized setting of "Tru Loved," the only other thing that might actually leave you scratching your head would be why Tru continues to take the abuse that her pretend boyfriend provides. When you take into account that they didn’t really know each other that well, she doesn’t owe him anything and for a majority of the film he treats her like a doormat. With how intelligent and driven she is, it seems to go against character that she would keep running back to him and barely bother to call him on his actions.
"Tru Loved" is a film that should be shown in high schools. It has a message and story that isn’t often seen and despite it’s few faults, that message should be out there for kids to consider adopting.
