Transamerica (2005)

This film features an Oscar-nominated performance by Felicity Huffman and was produced by Huffman's husband, William H. Macy.A woman in the midst of her gender transition (man to woman) is denied permission for the ultimate surgery until she has come to terms with her son (Kevin Zegers), who has just rung up out of nowhere -- she didn't know she fathered a son during some youthful fling.She leaves California for the East Coast, to get her gorgeous young son out of jail, without telling him she's his father. They drive across America, meet people, have adventures, get on each other's nerves. Every time they get in to the car, some annoying country music plays. Very old fashioned.Although there is merit here, and the film is moderately interesting, the stereotypes are annoying. One is sympathetic to someone who is transitioning, but does the transition need to be to a woman who must dress in pink and says things like, "Don't talk like that to a lady!" There's lots of simpering going on. OK -- she has one good line: "I'm a transsexual, not a transvestite." For the son's part, he's been jailed for working as a rent boy. Does he have to seem so depressed when he turns a trick? And Huffman's mother, played by Fionnulla Flanagan, is the most awful mother stereotype of all, who can't deal with the fact that her son is becoming a woman until she suddenly does deal with it.This movie deals sympathetically with an important issue; but did they have to throw every cliché in the book at it? And the worst cliché of all: Lying is the worst sin. And if you are technically a male, never deny it, particularly to your son (although he doesn't know he's her son at that point, he just thinks she's some nice religious lady), because he'll get really, really upset, but not because of the male genitals, but because you lied to him.How does this all work out? Does it all work out? Watch and find out. Still I'd recommend it because it does try and deal with a complex subject that isn't that well understood now and probably much less so when this film was made over a decade ago.

All I knew about this was that it was about a transsexual, that the leading performance was by a woman playing a woman that used to be a man, and that it was an independent film, I had wanted to see it for some time, I'm glad I did eventually. Basically Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne (Golden Globe winning, and Oscar nominated Felicity Huffman) is a conservative Transgender woman due to have a vaginoplasty in one week. Bree receives an expected phone call from 17-year-old Toby Wilkins (Kevin Zegers), he has been jailed in New York City, he asks for Stanley Schupak (Bree's birth name), who he claims is his father, he was born from her one and only sexual encounter with a woman. Bree was unaware she had a son and wants to renounce him, but her therapist Margaret (Elizabeth Peña) refuses permission for her operation if she does not confront her past before making her new future. Bree flies from Los Angeles to New York and bails Toby out of jail, Toby is a foul-mouthed runaway, a small-time drug dealer and a male prostitute, his mother committed suicide when he was a child, he was raised by his stepfather, whom he does not want to see. Bree pretends to be a Christian missionary and persuades Toby to travel with her back to the West Coast, she secretly plans to leave him at his stepfather's house on the way, it turns out Toby's stepfather was very abusive and molested him several times in his youth. Bree is dismayed with her failed plan to leave Toby, so they continue driving together to Los Angeles, they also stop along the way at a Dallas house where a group of transgender women (many are Bree's friends) are hosting a gender pride gathering. Later on in the trip Bree pulls over to urinate, Toby accidentally discovers that Bree has male genitalia, he is angry at first that she had not told him prior to his unintentional discovery, but he tries to be open-minded about it. They pick up a Hitchhiker (Grant Monohon) on th way, the next morning he steals their car and money, so Bree and Toby hitch a ride, Toby makes some money by prostituting himself, he tells Bree he got the money from selling drugs, they also hitch a ride with kindly rancher Calvin (Dances with Wolves' Graham Greene). They eventually reach Bree's parents' house in Phoenix, Arizona, here lives her pampered and self-centred mother Elizabeth (Yes Man's Fionnula Flanagan), her Jewish father Murray (Rocky's Burt Young), and her rebellious and sarcastic sister Sydney (Carrie Preston). Elizabeth disapproves of Bree's transsexuality, they have been estranged for some time because of her transphobia, but she is astonished she has a grandson, Toby likes Elizabeth's kindness and the luxury, she even invites him to live with them, but he does not like how disrespectful they are to Bree. At night Toby approaches Bree, he realises he has feelings for her and tries to seduce her, saying he will marry her if she wants, but he is appalled when Bree finally reveals that she is his father, infuriated he steals money and valuable antiques and leaves overnight. Devastated Bree returns to Los Angeles, with a plane ticket bought by her parents, her family finally accept her being a woman and calling her Bree, and she undergoes a successful surgery to become a full woman, but she is unhappy she will never see or hear from Toby. Some months later Bree is surprised when Toby comes knocking at her door, he has turned 18, bleached his hair blonde and become an adult actor for gay pornographic films, Bree meanwhile has found happiness working as a waitress at a restaurant, they reconcile, seemingly happy to see each other. Also starring Venida Evans as Arletty and Danny Burstein as Dr. Spikowsky. Huffman, best known as a star of Desperate Housewives, gives a brilliant performance as the pre-op transsexual facing up to parental responsibilities and going through both an emotional and physical journey, it is a traditional road movie with a quirky twist, a weird and mixed but affectionate relationship between former man father and son, it makes you laugh at the right moments, it does have awkward moments, but overall it is a great comedy drama. It was nominated the Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Song for Dolly Parton's "Travelin' Thru". Very good!

The movie TransAmerican portrayed the life of a transgendered individual in today's society in an accurate, relatable way. I found that one powerful example of this was when Bree's psychologist stated that gender dysphoria is a very serious mental disorder and Bree's response was "don't you find it odd that plastic surgery can cure a mental disorder?". This statement alone brought up the fact that transgendered people are not mentally ill and are fully aware of their mind and body and are fully capable of making the important decisions that take place in order to complete their transition. Another powerful aspect was when the little girl asks Bree if she is a boy or a girl. This brings up the issue of gender roles in our society and in order to "fit in" and not be judged you must fall into a strict gender category. This aspect of our society has put a great deal of strain upon transgendered people and their families. In the film they emphasized strained family relationships when addressing Bree's relationship with her parents and with Toby. Throughout the film you were able to see that Bree cared for Toby but was unsure how to interact with him in certain situations due to the fear of how he would react if he found out the truth about her. After the dinner party, when Bree apologized for the "fake" women and Toby responded by saying that he thought they were nice, Bree began to relax and open up around Toby. I found that the ending of TransAmerica was a realistic depiction of some of the struggles that many transgendered people face in connecting with their families. I believe this movie has the ability to raise awareness of the issues transgendered people are faced with, in hopes of creating a more accepting environment.

As someone who's made the same journey as Bree I thought the movie was wonderful. My story has a lot in common with Bree's. Sure I have some issues with some of the technical details, but overall it does a great job. In this movie we have both a personal and family story combined. Bree is looking to complete her transition and at the same time becomes a parent to a child she never had.Many trans people are unhappy with how Bree is portrayed, but I think they forget who the target audience is. Hint: It's not us trans people. So the portrayal of Bree in the movie is not really linear. In essence they compact a couple years of transition down to a one week period in the movie. That's why Bree appears so insecure at the beginning and so rounded and polished at the end. It's a lesson to non-trans people in brief of how we change over the course of transition.I would also be remiss to not mention the great soundtrack. Particularly "Like A Rose" as Bree's being readied for surgery. They also did a great job with casting. Everyone seemed so right for the parts they played. And finally, I think Felicity Huffman was robbed, she should have won the Oscar for this film.