OK, so you are a trio of talented musicians in LA’s prestigious music scene and you are creating music that’s hitting above the top spot on Spotify.
Unfortunately, despite a lovely house-share in Malibu, you are still more artists than commercial successes and the record company likes your demo, but wants hotter than hot studio produced versions rather than garage ones. Despite the platonic arrangement of your household, delight occurs when one of you has a trust fund available – provided they get married in order to receive it.
This is the backdrop to the brand-new LGBTQ+ romcom TELL ME I LOVE YOU, written and directed by Fiona MacKenzie. Ally (Paulina Cerrilla), Ben (Sam Clark) and Melanie (Kaniehtiio Horn) play the aforementioned subjects of the story – attractive and upcoming, but eager for that extra passionate push to take them into the realm of the senses we know as the ‘Musical Elite’
Melanie produces records, Ben is coming to terms with the death of his parents in a car accident a year previous and Ally is waiting on tables whilst auditioning for another gig that may or may not bomb. When Melanie learns of the trust fund, Ben suggests two weddings as a cover, one to Mel to claim the trust fund and one with Ally to satisfy a sudden lapse of reason when her family pressures her to marry an old childhood sweetheart by announcing she and Ben are engaged.
Inevitably, the sudden arrival of relations, coupled with bisexual Melanie’s recent attraction to her yoga teacher Cassie (Renee Morrison), is about to take another twist with all the confusing mix-ups prevailing, not to mention a Viagra-tangoed guacamole brought to the party. The things one does for love….!!
Combining the complexities of the British romcom IMAGINE ME & YOU with a taste of LA LA LAND in the mix, TELL ME I LOVE YOU is a slick and honest tale of love and lies among the friendships and people reaching for what they want when the more truthful feelings impact on what they are after. The lead trio are fun to watch, particularly the two female leads who invest the wide-eyed disbelief of their actions to achieve their indirect goals.
Although it is a mix of gender-specifics, it is the openness of the friendships and relationships that mark this as an entertaining prospect and should carry beyond the appeal that the film may have to a specific target audience. That said, the target audience should be broader than broad – and the right elements of storytelling will always win out, as it does here.
Tell Me I Love You is available on DVD & VOD from June 2nd , 2020
