Schmerzende wahrheit

Ellen Muth is a teen who comes out as a lesbian, and Stockard Channing and James Naughton are her parents in "The Truth About Jane," a Lifetime movie.

This was an excellent movie dealing with the shame and pain of being different, the realization of who you are, and the difficulty in telling your loved ones you're gay. Jane is terrified of losing her parents' love so she can't tell them the truth about her friendship with a lonely, unhappy girl, even after her parents are told they were spotted kissing. When she finally comes out, there is anger and denial at first.

The performances in this movie are excellent all around, as is Muth's voice-over of the girl telling her story. The emotions ring true. Unfortunately, it's all a little too pat and probably not the actual experience of many young people acknowledging their gayness. Jane's mom has a best friend (RuPaul) who is gay, and she also has a female teacher who admits that she is gay. So she has lots of support, and, since this is Lifetime, her parents come around.

Definitely worth seeing and discussing, and I'm sure the film would be helpful to anyone faced with this situation. But as we know from real life, acceptance often comes at a higher price.

This film is based on some stilted or manipulated situations, especially those involving the glib wisdom dispensed by Jane's teacher and friends. In fact, the teacher is merely a plot device, showing up as a "deus ex machina" at exactly the right moments to help Jane.

But the plight of coming out is well portrayed and genuine.

The feeling that "no where is safe" is the terror experienced by many homosexuals, especially teens. It is good that a TV-movie like this, as pat as it is, was broadcast on Lifetime, the cable network aimed at women. I believe women can overcome the fear of homosexuality better than men who have been indoctrinated into the macho myth that fosters homophobia.

Did these guys have microphones in the wall when I came out to my parents? This movie was so similar to my own coming out experience that it was downright creepy in places. Some of Stockard Channing's lines were almost exactly what my own mother said verbatim!

So, in my book, this movie gets a 15 out of 10 for realism because, hey, I lived it. What more can I say. It's like they made a movie of my coming out experience and Ellen Muth played me.

About the movie itself, the acting was great; the plot was well laid out and strong and the characters were wonderfully believable. This movie is a 100% must see for teenage lesbians and their parents.

I managed to see this Lifetime movie dealing with teenage homosexuality. I am a huge fan of movies dealing with homosexuality but I think this movie painted an unrealistic picture of what many gay teens have to deal with. Unlike Jane's parents, most parents of gay kids will not attend PFLAG meetings, will not have friends that they know are gay, and will not stand side by side with their kids as they deal with their children's attraction for people of the same sex. In a way I think it devalues how tortuous it is for a kid dealing with a person's coming out process in their life when almost the majority of coming out experiences are downright bad. Still, it's hard to dislike Stockard Channing, and I think she did well under the circumstances that the script presented, and I think a film like this must be seen in the context of how television is just beginning to make movies that address homosexuality. In that way, I give this film credit for at least addressing some of the difficulties of coming out.

OK so I'm sappy, I loved this movie, as angst ridden as it was. My coming out wasn't nearly as bad, but I'm sure others have it even worse. I loved the acting, the cute music, the gorgeous school teacher and Stockard Channing's acting. Every time I watch this movie I enjoy it more, Ellen Muth is also a great little actress. And at least she didn't go back to a man like most lesbian movies made for mainstream do. Be out and proud of who you are!