TX: TX:Filmed in Los Angeles by the Konigsberg Co. Executive producers, Frank Konigsberg, Joyce Eliason; producer, Jack Clements; director, Ron Lagomarsino; writer, Eliason; This triangle has three emotionally needy, yet fully functioning, points. Jesse and Jade are close but there’s tension, which Billy’s demanding presence intensifies. He’s got a voracious sexual appetite, impossible for the dateless virgin Jade not to be jealous of, let alone ignore.
Billy turns out to be just a possessive jerk. Wine and innocent frolicking lead to hanky-panky as he rushes Jade’s sexual awakening. The statutory rape is kept a secret for a short while as he plans to marry her mother.
The aftermath is naturally on the heavier side. Jade’s dad (Ted Shackelford) assumes a bigger role in her life and the satisfying outcome is not too neat.
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All three leads are utterly believable as the very real and slightly offbeat characters. D’Angelo is quirky, sexy and caring; Estes brings a cool charm to the repellent Billy. But the night belongs to Lewis for making the adolescent interesting. She’s no Calvin Klein poster girl and she makes it plausible that her seducer is drawn by her warmth and humor as much as by her looks or his libido.
Adult material develops at a nice pace and is never handled in a sordid or condescending manner. Writer Eliason is dialed-in to the teenage dilemma and treats the events on an emotional level, not as an issue. When Jade defends the reputation of pigs and voices her concern for the environment, it sounds original. Similar touches heighten the vidpic’s appeal.
