In thirteen days we experienced hundreds of parties (seems like) and many memorable moments. Perez Hilton, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, Robin Williams, George Takei, TR Knight and Margaret Cho all has reason to celebrate. And when they party, it’s a party!
It came to a dramatic and cheerful ending on Monday July 21 as festival-goers packed into the Orpheum Theater one last time.
Oh my!
Everyone’s favorite Star Trek Captain, George Takei, walked on stage to deafening applause. He is loved by all. But tonight he was here to show his love to another Starfleet officer, Nichelle Nichols, who was honored with the ACLU’s Liberty and Honor Award.
Showtime
“Tru Loved” is remarkable on many levels. As a straight reviewer who only really sees a handful of gay films each year, I’m looking for a good story first, regardless of gay themes. Often times, even some of the best gay films never get past the “Hey, we’re gay” factor. While I respect the pride behind it, it may drag down mainstream audiences.
This is where “Tru Loved” absolutely hits a home run. Maybe even a grand slam. While it certainly deals with plenty of GLBT themes, for the most part, it all feels organic from within the story. And what a story it is.
Najarra The Great
Najarra Townsend leads the film as “Tru”, a girl in conservative suburbia with her lesbian mothers. She struggles like all teens to fit in and find love, but her quest is complicated by sexual politics, closed minds, and closeted friends.
Miss Townsend proves in every frame that she is more than just a star. She has the potential to be a superstar. Magnetic eyes, superior beauty and an alluring presence.
There are two fantasy scenes early on which lets the audience know that this won’t be your average little movie. And it certainly doesn’t disappoint that notion.
The first forty-five minutes, writer/director Stewart Wade delights in shredding every pre-conception you can have. Who’s gay, who’s straight. Each character is smarter than the next. It leaves the audience constantly chasing after the plot. And it’s a fun race.
Around halfway in, there’s a brief, but very fitting musical number inspired by “West Side Story”. It’s reminiscent of Woody Allen’s “Everyone Says I Love You”. The characters are clearly not professional singers nor dancers, yet their spirits carry the sequence.
The second forty-five minutes lowers from an A+ to an A-. There’s still plenty of heart and the pacing doesn’t suffer, but the strong drive is replaced with a confidence. Less plot, more character.
The last ten minutes unfortunately falls onto tired cliché. One wonders whether Wade’s stellar opening act ended up painting himself into a corner that even he couldn’t escape. He shouldn’t be penalized for this, but celebrated for the initial head-fakes and twists.
But, the last scene of the movie ends with a bang and establishes Tye Olson as a major scene stealer. If I was given a repeat viewing, I’d keep my eyes on the young thespian much more. Clearly, Outfest agrees, as he won Outstanding Lead Actor in a feature for “Watercolors”.
To be fair, there are many outstanding supporting performances in this production. Matthew Thompson’s innocence, Alexandra Paul’s chemistry with Cynda Williams, Jake Abel portrays a delicious twist; and fan favorites Bruce Vilanch, Jasmine Guy, Elaine Hendrix. Each brought their A-game to Producer Antonio Brown.
Someone needs to give this team more money for another movie. Send Wade back into the kitchen to cook up another story full of even more twists and turns. Then beg Townsend to shine with him again. After all, she’s a star now.
The 2008 Outfest Award Winners
Outstanding U.S. Dramatic Feature (Heineken® Red Star Award):
WERE THE WORLD MINE directed by Thomas Gustafson
Outstanding International Dramatic Feature:
XXY directed by Lucia Puenzo
Outstanding Documentary Feature:
SEX POSITIVE directed by Daryl Wein
Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film:
Tye Olson in WATERCOLORS
Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film:
Nicole Bilderback in THE NEW TWENTY
Outstanding Screenwriting:
James Bolton, screenwriter, DREAM BOY
Outstanding Dramatic Short:
COUNTERTRANSFERENCE directed by Madeleine Olnek
Outstanding Documentary Short:
LA CORONA (THE CROWN) directed by Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega Special Programming Awards
Outfest Freedom Award:
FOOTBALL UNDER COVER directed by David Assmann and Ayat Najafi
Outstanding Emerging Talent ($5,000 product grant from Kodak):
Dave O’Brien, director, EQUALITY U
Outstanding Artistic Achievement:
Matt Wolf, director, WILD COMBINATION: A PORTRAIT OF ARTHUR RUSSELL
Audience Awards HBO Outstanding First Dramatic Feature ($5,000 cash prize):
WATERCOLORS directed by David Oliveras
Outstanding Dramatic Feature:
HAMLET 2 directed by Andrew Fleming
Outstanding Documentary Feature:
A PLACE TO LIVE directed by Carolyn Coal
Outstanding Dramatic Short:
I’M JIN-YOUNG directed by Lee Sung-eun Outstanding Documentary Short:
LA CORONA (THE CROWN) directed by Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega Outstanding Soundtrack:
HAMLET 2
