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October 20, 2007
Transamerica
The journey is the destination. All the cliches of road trip movies are transformed into the wrapping to mainstream gender dysphoria. It's true that there's a lot of artifice in this film, but it actually works. I believed the story of a transsexual woman on her way to reassignment surgery meeting her son, a troubled teen who only knows how to please people physically.
It's true there are a lot of contrivances in the movie. But you only think about them when trying to describe it once it's done. While watching it, I felt I was watching a truthful slice of life of particular individuals. As Felicity said in an interview (part of the special features section), the film is about people's journey to find their true selves, which is every person's journey. It doesn't matter that one character is transgender and the other is a drug addict / prostitute, the mother and child traveling cross-country together are two engaging people trying to find their true selves in this heartless country.
I enjoyed the film, though I have to say I avoided it for awhile. I was done with Hollywood perceptions of The Other, and didn't feel compelled to see another explanation of how queer people are just like "us." I was intrigued by the great praise I kept hearing for Felicity Huffman's acting, so I put it on my Netflix queue, and eventually found my way to seeing it. I'm glad I took the time to give it a chance.
It's always important to remember that being true to yourself is the biggest gift you can give to the world. (And that getting your heart broken is a part of becoming a complete human.)
Rotten Tomatoes entry
Ebert's plot synopsis / shout out to red state open-mindedness
Posted by cj at October 20, 2007 09:46 PM