Transamerica (2005)

Did you people see the same film I saw?

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

I always laugh and cry through this movie, it is a great story, with universal themes, and a lot of layered meaning and humor.It is pretty real, and I feel for Bree because I am also a woman of transsexual experience, and I've been through a lot of what she goes through as part of transition. Changing sex is one of the most difficult (and risky) things a human being can do - a bit like climbing Everest without the glory (that's why the bath-scene is *so poignant* and *important*). So many scenes ring true to my experience.If you pay close attention, you will see and hear some of the "secret" humor we trans woman share among ourselves...humor helps us as we pay our "trans dues."Blessings & Joy!!Renee

Transamerica was a great movie that highlighted many obstacles that trans-gendered and transsexual people are faced with. One of the greatest fears of transsexual people is having their gender questioned and in Transamerica, Bree is faced with that exact fear. When Bree is sitting in a restaurant, she finds a little girl staring at her with a confused look on her face. Eventually the little girl asks Bree, "are you a boy or a girl?" Bree immediately breaks down and viewers are exposed to the true difficulties that transsexuals deal with on a day to day basis. Another issue that transsexuals deal with is the classification of their disorder. Gender dysmorphia is what trans-gendered people must be diagnosed with before any surgery procedures can take place. In Transamerica, Bree makes a comment to her doctor about how it is an amazing thing that plastic surgery is a cure for her disorder. The majority of trans-gendered people would most likely agree that surgery would be a cure for their disorder. Evidently, Bree does not agree that she has a mental disorder but simply believes her brain does not match her body. Unfortunately in today's society, trans-gendered people are considered to have a mental disorder and as many know, being known to having a mental disorder can be dire to one's life. Another issue that Bree has difficulties facing is her life as a man. Bree's past comes back to haunt her when she finds out that she has a son who has many troubles of his own. She struggles with coming to terms with the fact that her past can not be changed and that she has to deal with consequences of her actions while living life as a man. Clearly, trans-gendered people have a number of different issues that need to be dealt with in order to live happily. Once Bree is able to accept her past, she is able to find peace and happiness as a woman

11103829 The director of this film, Duncan Tucker, stated that he wanted a female actress to play the role of Bree, a character who is a transsexual woman, because it would allow Bree to become the woman she wants to be. Felicity Huffman was cast in this role, and although she did an incredible job, I don't think the choice of a biological female was necessary to give the character Bree the life she always wanted. In my opinion, Tucker's statement contrasts the important message this film gives, which is to find oneself, and oneself can be in any gender, sex, identity or expression. Bree became the woman she wanted to be in the end, but it would have been achieved regardless of the actor's biological sex. I also think that the choice to have a female cast in the role shows that gender is and can be a performance, and that anyone can create a new or different identity for themselves. The fact that Huffman is a female that plays a transsexual woman who was previously a man, connects the goal of the film and can work in many different ways. Huffman's deeper voice and exaggerated feminine mannerisms gave a realistic performance of a transsexual woman, which shows that gender is a performance and something that is constructed. Performance can be learned and put to use for individuals trying to transition to the opposite sex. This film was well done and successfully showed a realistic story of a transsexual woman, and the struggles that many transsexual women may go through. I did wish to see a transsexual woman in the role, because it would provide the opportunity for a transsexual woman to have a lead role, and possibly become a more widely known actor

Duncan Tucker has directed one of the best self-discovery movies of all. "Transamerica" casts Felicity Huffman as Bree, a trans-gender woman about to have a sex-change operation, when she learns that she has a son named Toby (Kevin Zegers). So, she gets the boy out of jail while masquerading as a church lady, and the two of them take a cross-country tour. In the process, Bree learns not only about what kind of boy Toby is, but also about herself.I can't really do the movie justice by simply talking about it. It's a REALLY good movie. Funny but serious at the same time -- without taking itself too seriously -- the movie hits all the right notes. The contrast between Bree's vibrant world in SoCal and Toby's dirty NY apartment couldn't be more stark. The film has got too many good qualities to list here, so I would advise you to just go ahead and see it! Also starring Graham Greene, Fionnula Flanagan, Burt Young (Paulie in "Rocky"), Carrie Preston and Elizabeth Peña.PS: When "Transamerica", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Capote" (all LGBT-themed) won big at the Golden Globes in 2006, Jay Leno called it "God's way of punishing Pat Robertson".