Tru Loved (2008)

Director:

Stewart Wade

Writer:

Stewart Wade (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

High School with a Happy Ending

Plot:

Recently relocated from San Francisco to conservative suburbia by her lesbian mothers, Tru struggles like all teens to fit in and find love...

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian Mother | Gay Parent | Male Female Relationship | Gay Father | Gay Interest

Awards:

14 wins

Cast

Najarra Townsend	...	Tru
Jake Abel	...	Trevor
Matthew Thompson	...	Lodell
Alexandra Paul	...	Leslie
Cynda Williams	...	Lisa
Alec Mapa	...	Mr. Bushnell
Bruce Vilanch	...	Uncle Daniel
Nichelle Nichols	...	Grandmother
Jasmine Guy	...	Cynthia
Jane Lynch	...	Ms. Maple
Elaine Hendrix	...	Mrs. Muller
Tye Olson	...	Walter
Joseph Julian Soria	...	Manuel
Tony Brown	...	Principal Velasquez
Vernon Wells	...	Coach Wesley

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:R

Company:

BrownBag Productions (II)

Trivia:

Film critic Roger Ebert gave the movie a one-star rating, but admitted that he already walked out after 8 minutes. After receiving heavy criticism for rating a movie without having the courtesy to watch it completely, he went back to see the movie in its entirety, and promised to 'never, ever' do it again.

Soundtrack:

Trippin on India

Alright, but annoyingly passive

I recently saw this at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival to an almost packed house. Tru Loved is the story of a teenage girl named Tru (short for Gertrude) who goes to a new school. Of course, she doesn't fit in at first, mainly because she is labeled as a "freak" by the popular crowd (ie. about 3 or 4 people) when she looks quite average actually. The twist here is that her she has two sets of parents -- two moms and two dads, of which they're all gay. This element proves to be refreshing and comedic at times.

However, when dealing with teenage themes, there are always going to be stereotypes and clichéd situations, especially when it comes to gay-themed films (ie. conservative parents, the anti-gay jocks). What set Juno apart from most other teenage films was the interesting and colourful characters. Tru, as the protagonist, first comes across as possibly interesting, but falls behind other major characters who have bigger problems than her.

In the beginning, she fantasizes about outlandish scenarios, which, instead of adding her to character, only seem like something the writer added in the hopes of making her interesting when it in fact strangely clashes with her somewhat bland personality. She meets and befriends Lo, who turns out to be gay, and is reluctantly becomes his "girlfriend". This and other events happen TO her, and after a while, it is clear she doesn't have any particular goal but merely follows other subplots and guides people, which was frustrating at times. In fact, the entire film felt more like Lo's story rather than hers.

This isn't to say that the film wasn't entertaining. A few great punchlines kept the audience roaring with laughter (as much as I want to, I can't repeat it. Go see it for yourself). The acting decent, the direction alright, the budget noticeably small but overlooked, Tru Loved is a good second film from Stewart Wade, but don't take it too seriously as real life.