Transamerica

"Transamerica" follows the trajectory of the long tradition of road movies with opposites paired up on a voyage of self-discovery, with stops along the way to their pasts.

The gimmick here recalls "Broken Flowers"s trip when another biological father discovers a son. Here, it's not just that the person who produced the sperm is on the verge of transsexual completion that helps the film rise above various genre clichés (there was more than passing similarity to scenes from such films as "The Sure Thing," "Smoke Signals," and "Midnight Run" in debut writer/director Duncan Tucker's script, plus unfortunate throwback images of the south from "Deliverance" and way over-the-top dysfunctional families, and some Native American commentary on transsexuals coinciding with a convenient appearance by the ever estimable Graham Greene.)

As graphically embodied in two terrific performances, "Bree" (Felicity Huffman as née "Stanley") and the new-found son "Toby" have opposite relations to their bodies. Having felt like a stealth woman trapped in a man's body, "Bree" is naive to the pleasures of the flesh and is used to having to be wrapped up tight in her struggle to control normality that has impeded every part of her life.

"Toby" is an abused gay hustler who probably for good reason and profit assumes that people of either gender or those in-between are responding to him physically (and Kevin Zegers is such an unfettered, tousled Adonis that he is even more sensual than Joseph Gordon-Levitt's somewhat similar screwed-up kid in "Mysterious Skin").

Both have had only negative experiences with family, as we see along the way, and both have a lot to learn about the parent/child relationship and honesty.

While it makes it too easy for the audience's perception to have the transsexual be played by an actress (like Vanessa Redgrave as Renee Richards or Olympia Dukakis in "Tales of the City" or Famke Janssen on "Nip/Tuck" vs. Terence Stamp in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert") with only two momentary reversion lapses to masculine mannerisms played for laughs and revelation, at least for more realism "Bree" is not in the arts or some high-powered white-collar job.

There were a lot of chuckles throughout the film, but I was surprised that not all of the folks at the crowded opening weekend matinée of a very mixed gay and straight audience joined in. (Though the two guys next to me who had been discussing "Lord of the Rings" just before the film started were uproarious at "Toby"s analysis of the gay sub-text in that story.) It was a cheap shot for easy laughs to have "Bree" be half-Jewish.

While I thought it was for symbolism that the two have a key stop-over in Phoenix, it turns out that was filmed at the director's parents' house in Arizona. I presume the kid's concluding black cowboy hat and blond hair is a bit of an homage to "Midnight Cowboy."

The soundtrack selections are excellent reflections of the environments the characters are in, from Latin in California, to hip hop in New York to a lovely range of Southern country and gospel, moving through Texas with a Lucinda Williams track, Native American in New Mexico, with a beautiful new Dolly Parton song over the credits that should get an Oscar nomination.

TRANSAMERICA is a film where you meet people who might really exist. And real people are not only great or terrible, they are mostly both. It is the acting and the dialog which makes all the difference. The film offers a blueprinted storyline of two people who don't know each other traveling together across the US, from NY to LA. Memories of MIDNIGHT RUN and RAIN MAN do come up once in a while. But still this is everything but a Hollywood product. The main character is a Transsexual named Bree, born as a man but living the past few years as a woman, only days before her operation which will definitely make her a woman. That subject and, the fact, that the role is played by an actress signifies a very different approach to the old gender questions. The film offers funny moments too, but never makes fun about a man, wanting to be a woman. The film is very subtle, and it is really a pity when it is finally over. It displays very well that great stories don't require great budgets to make great films! 9 out of 10!

Last week a family getting ready to move gave my wife and I a bag of books and a few films. One of the films was Transamerica. I glanced at the front and back and through "Hmmm, I didn't I know Mrs. H. was into weird movies". A few nights later my wife and I decided to give the film a try. The film was great, we're so tired of the same old Hollywood stuff, action, special effects, top dollar actors who could care less about the characters. The film captured us in the very beginning, we both empathized with Bree, understood her struggle, pain, and basic desire to be herself. The road trip was a great part of the film. I enjoyed the Calvin Manygoats and the meeting with her parents (the mom was great). I grew uncomfortable with Toby's desire to have sex with his biological father, as well as the tryst with the trucker, but this was an intergral part of the story and the film was very realistic. I learned a lot about the struggle and pain that these people have in life, it made me more accepting of their lives. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys a good story, exceptional acting, and good dialog. It's a very good film.

The journey Ms. Huffman takes in TRANSAMERICA is one in which many will identify with in needing to become the person you really should be. Ms. Huffman's performance as a "man into a woman" played by a woman is a miracle and a triumphant film performance that an audience should see to fully understand the brilliance of what an actor can transform on film, as well as for the warm, intelligent character, Bree, becomes on the screen.

Please, give Felicity Huffman the Oscar NOW!!! And, The young, brilliant actor, Kevin Zegers, as Toby, commands the role as Bree's son in TRANSAMERICA with just as painful a journey as Bree in wanting to have a better life for himself. Toby and Bree are two soul mates waiting to discover one another, ironically as father and son,as this film brings to a wonderful conclusion.

TRANSAMERICA is a film that should be seen to be understood; a film that presents two characters, father and son, who take a journey together that will change their lives forever. When the Award season commences, Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zegers should be on the stage to receive awards for characters that warm your heart and take you back in time with questions on your own life's directions.

I first saw Transamerica as the closing film for the Frameline film festival in San Francisco where it won the "The Frameline Audience Award for Best Feature". The film was obviously a labor of love. Duncan Tucker wrote, directed and wisely cast Felicity Huffman as Bree (before she had been cast as a "desperate housewife"). Huffman's husband William Macy was executive producer.

The plot line is certainly the tried and true formula of the transformational road trip, yet the irony of Bree's concurrent sexual transformation freshens a story that could easily have been cliché. Kevin Zegers and the rest of the supporting cast are superb, but Huffman's characterization of Bree is Oscar caliber.

See Transamerica! It's not tragic like "Boys Don't Cry". It's not about sexuality, fetish, or camp. It's a movie about otherness, transformation, family, and ultimately acceptance. Felicity Huffman's Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated performance is absolutely astounding. Her acting skill fills Bree with insecurity, pathos, warmth, humor, and growth which ultimately transforms the audience's involvement from freak show curiosity to empathy and identification.

Thankfully the Weinstein brothers recognized just how outstandingly strong this performance is and decided that Transamerica would be one of the first films they would choose to distribute after their great success at Miramax.

I saw this movie again during it's limited distribution, again in general distribution and now own the DVD. Each time I've watched it I find even more to like. Transamerica is an indie classic.