Review of Transamerica (2005) by Lorenzo V — 24 Nov 2008

"Life is more than the sum of its parts.".

The first film by Duncan Tucker, Transamerica stars Felicity Huffman as a pre-operative transsexual named Bree (whose given name was Stanley). One week before going under the knife, Bree learns that she fathered a boy who is now 17 and is in trouble with the law. Bree would like to ignore this information, but is forced to meet the young man, Toby (played by Kevin Zegers), by her analyst Margaret (Elizabeth Peña), who will not allow the surgery to happen unless Bree meets him and confronts this aspect of her past. Upon meeting, the son believes that Bree is simply a do-gooder. She buys a car and the two road-trip back to her home in Los Angeles, Bree all the while attempting to keep from Toby the truth of the situation.

Review.

A sensitive subject matter on which there are as many opinions and prejudices as that of "Brokeback Mountain". Huffman absolutely excels in the role of transsexual in the last throes of transformation - the role seems tailor made for her with every gesture and dignified word being dynamic in its delivery. Surely to be forever acclaimed as the performance that lost an Oscar to sentimentality. Kevin Zegers as the dysfunctional son with a huge but understandable chip on his shoulder gives a strong indication of becoming a big name in Hollywood. With Dolly Parton's voice taking one through the rolling of the credits I thought the usage of more country music through the trans-continental trip would have been apt and lent some great atmosphere to the journey of discovery.