As the teenage heroine of “Tru Loved” discovers, there’s a big closet at her new high school. And the star quarterback is in it.
She is Tru (likable Najarra Townsend), who’s just moved to the suburbs with her two lesbian moms (Alexandra Paul and Cynda Williams). And by the way, she’s got a gay dad, too.
So Tru, a straight girl herself, is comfortable with differing orientations. But when the team QB (Matthew Thompson) asks her out, and then reveals a notable lack of interest in heterosexuality, she’s challenged.
He wants her to stay his girlfriend, because it wouldn’t be cool for a quarterback to be gay. She likes the guy and wants to help him out, but dishonesty isn’t the best policy, right?
If you don’t know the answer, maybe this movie will take you by surprise. Otherwise, it’s an “After School Special” with a gay slant.
But considering its low-Âbudget nature and predictable story, “Tru Loved” is amiable enough. Director Stewart Wade, making his first feature, has assembled a pretty nice little cast of pros, including comic actors such as Jane Lynch and Bruce Vilanch.
It is also a kick to see Nichelle Nichols, of the original “Star Trek” series, as the closeted athlete’s grandmother. The movie’s niceness is such that everybody’s family is supportive and open-minded — perhaps not reality, but reality according to this movie’s rosy vision.
As though lending approval to the proceedings, there’s even a cameo by David Kopay, the first NFL player to ever announce his homosexuality. Kopay went to the University of Washington in the early 1960s before enjoying a long pro career, during which he was in the closet himself.
Kopay himself would surely acknowledge that the issues in the movie are a little thornier than the way they work out here. The athletic field remains a place where gay identities remain bottled up, which makes the film a sunny piece of wish fulfillment.
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