Tru Loved

I think many people do not take a chance and find out the truth for themselves. In regard to movies, they depend on reviewers to take the chance and do the work for them. Doing so gives power to reviewers, which is an evil thing. Those very people who give away their rights will think that, since Roger Ebert dismissed 'Tru Loved', it is not a good movie and will not go to the trouble of finding out for themselves. And this confirms their prejudices and makes them feel secure.

'Tru Loved' is a very good movie indeed. So why did he dismiss it? Why dismiss a movie that deals wisely with two of the most difficult aspects of human relationships, sex and race, in an entertaining and unifying way. That has a fine story. That has excellent acting which is natural and convincing (Najarra Townsend, as 'Tru', is inspiring). That has the priceless effect on the audience of goodwill and fellowship. That is pure and genuine.

Why dismiss such a terrific movie? I think the reason is that Mr. Ebert did not give the movie a chance to unfold. As a result, he missed the whole point of 'Tru Loved'--which is human unity. Then, in response to criticism, he went back and justified his position, still missing the point.

Why did he miss the point that 'Tru Loved' is about human unity? Because of unconscious fears, distaste or antagonism? Because of physical illness? Because it reminded him of other movies he didn't like? Because it didn't taste like his cup of tea? Who knows why?

Personally, I love 'Tru Loved'! I think it is a marvelous movie! I recommend it to all my friends.

That's my review. But don't take my word for it, find out for yourself.

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").

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 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.

I saw this movie with a film class and every one of us thought it was god-awful. The writing is totally flat and the acting is even worse. The characters and situations only become more unbelievable as the movie drones on. So both of this girl's parents are gay? And her fake boyfriend is gay? And her real boyfriend's uncle/dad is gay? Are we really supposed to just swallow that? Come on. This movie could almost be funny in a campy way if it didn't take itself so seriously. I'm not criticizing its message--I happen to completely agree with it--I just don't appreciate being bashed over the head with it. This movie has all the subtlety and nuance of a tidal wave. A lisping, rainbow-colored, Madonna-singing tidal wave.