Tru Loved

The only person who deserves positive credit for Tru-Loved is whoever edited the trailer, because it gives the distinct impression of a cutting edge, highly relevant and entertaining film, but sadly the trailer contains the only good and valuable few minutes of the entire feature.

Tonight after just five minutes I was seriously thinking of pressing the fast forward or eject buttons, but since I'd paid $29 (Australian) I was determined to see it through. What a tragic waste of time and money (for myself as well as the filmmakers). Tru-Loved is bloated, limp and literally drips with cheese - and in spite of being obviously well intended, it manages to fail in every regard as acceptable cinema.

I was especially annoyed that there was so little skill demonstrated in the sound design. There were repeated scenes (mainly in the tree house) where the voices dropped so low that I had to pump the volume on my amp to understand what was being said - and even then the voices were being drowned out by the sound of the actors' footfall. I had to then quickly adjust the amp volume back down as the next scene blared out. That sort of careless attention to detail reflects directly on the technical quality of the whole film.

I had bought this DVD thinking it would be a youth positive asset for an LGBT community film night, but sadly it's much more likely to go in the bin (as did "The Curiosity Of Chance" and "Tan Lines").

Here's another film that had its heart in the right place, but unfortunately, terrible writing, direction and acting sink this piece of Cali cinematic garbage before it even begins. Stewart Walker is the culprit behind this mess. Walker needs to go back to writing school and learn how to construct a decent screenplay, then take courses in directing. 'Tru Love' centers around a family relocating from SF to a far more conservative town in what might be the San Fernando Valley of LA. The local high school is predictably homophobic and as a result, some of the more conscientious and open minded students organize a gay-straight alliance. This could have and should have been so much better if only had it been under more talented supervision. Predictability and cliches abound, as does plenty of homophobia on the part of the sadistic gym teacher/coach. This movie should be remade because valuable lessons can be learned here, but regrettably were lost somewhere in the sub mediocre dialogue. I rate Tru Loved 2 stars and 10 yawns!

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.

You absolutely must see this movie. I saw it at the closing gala for Outfest and it is amazing. The story is funny, heartwarming, pertinent and deals with a subject that we and our children live with every day in our world. And, it deals with it with great honesty, love and heart. The film deals with adolescent self acceptance and tolerance and shows the importance of people working together to achieve common goals. I think it should be requisite viewing at every middle and high school as well as every PTA in the country. Stewart Wade has written a beautiful story that is brought to life by a stellar cast. Nothing short of fantastic.

Theresa Shell Los Angeles California

I too saw this about a year ago in Los Angeles.

My son had seen it at his school and was very excited about it – he and his friends thought it was great. Apparently they were showing it in schools as a learning tool.

When I saw it was showing in theaters, I went out of curiosity. I enjoyed it very much!

I agree with all Theresa Shell's comments here . . . it should be shown in all middle and high schools as well as PTA meetings throughout the country. … A gentle yet entertaining way of expanding our thought processes toward tolerance and understanding.

I understand that this movie was made shortly after a young high school student in Southern California had, because he was gay, been killed by a fellow student.

High school years are such a hard time for so many kids trying to struggle with all kinds of social stresses; being gay just one example, it can be just feeling unattractive or being very shy, or over weight, or under weight, or family struggles or feeling shut out of a group they admire, or breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend, or being made fun of for any reason, or embarrassment over some thing that other people are not even aware of. It goes on and on. We all need to learn to accept others for who they are and realize, we all are struggling with who we are.