Love Is All You Need?

Narrated by Lexi DiBenedetto, the short begins with the birth of the lead character, Ashley, her mothers, Karen (Levy) and Vicki (Lazar) at the scene. The story moves on where Ashley describes her early troubles of being an in-the-closet heterosexual.[3] One event included a church sermon that rejected opposite-sex relationships except for reproduction; another detailed her playing house with her friends.[4][6]

Ashley experiences several other events during her life. Her parents are unsupportive of heterosexuality, not knowing that their daughter is, using heterophobic slurs, like "breeder" and requesting that their children walk a different route to school after a straight couple move into their neighborhood. At school, she experiences physical and emotional bullying after it is discovered she is in a relationship with a male classmate (Dante Thorn).[2][6] Later, his older brother and his companions physically attack Ashley and one of her own friends writes hetero on her forehead. Upon arriving home, her parents have received a phone call about their daughter's sexual orientation. Vicki proceeds to instruct Ashley to "march upstairs and get cleaned up". Karen, unlike her wife, disagrees, causing the two women to argue. Ashley begins to clean the marker from her face in the bathroom, where she later decides to commit suicide due to the stress she has been through. As she bleeds from a self-inflicted wound, she continues to receive hateful text messages on her phone. At the end, Karen and Vicki eventually burst through the locked bathroom door to find Ashley's lifeless body.[2][4][5]

Love Is All You Need received mostly positive reviews.[5] Reviewers on the Internet Movie Database have described the short film in acclaim, as "powerful," "thought provoking" and full of raw emotion. Film critic Jodie Mullen also gave a positive review, writing that the story was "truly inspirational".[3][5] After viewing Love is All You Need? at the 2011 Atlanta Film Festival, Larry McGillicuddy wrote the film was "an incredibly powerful statement against bigotry, bullying, and oppression."[6]

After it was announced that the short would be adapted into a full-length movie, an additional story line was included, revolving around a female football player who enters a relationship with a male journalist. The film will also include Ashley's story and DiBennedetto has been confirmed to reprise her role.[7][8][9] Levy and Lazar will also appear, appearing as a nurse and a "Female Commentator," respectively.[10] Additional cast members include Elisabeth Röhm, Emily Osment, Mike Manning and Jeremy Sisto.[7]

• Official website