Rating: ****
Official site
‘Transamerica’ is a surprisingly light-hearted film about a transexual who discovers that he/she has a son from a relationship 17 years ago. Felicity Huffman, who also appears in ‘Desperate Housewives’, starrs as Stanley/Bree Clara Osbourne, afflicted with what her psychiatrist calls - gender dysphoria. He/she has undergone numerous plastic surgeries and morphed into this lady we see in the poster above, but is still dissatisfied, and intensely loathes the um… ‘male organ’ (not using the actual word here cuz i dun want my blog to be spammed), and he/she has made a long-awaited appointment for a surgery to remove it. Unfortunately, a week before the operation, he/she receives a call for ‘Stanley’, from his/her son…
Eventually, Bree decides to pretend that she is a social worker of sorts from the church and bails her son out from the lockup. They start a transamerican journey, from New York to Los Angeles, where Bree will have her surgery and when her son will fulfil his ambition - to bleach his hair blond and star in a porno flick. -_-
Despite the lack of interaction between father and son for 17 years, the two are more alike than they can ever imagine… Both are facing gender problems… I believe that there might be an element of homosexuality in Tobey (Zegers), which could be something ‘inherited’ or merely a way of survival in his kind of world. But I think it had environmental contribution as well, in terms of his step father who sexually abused him. But this is a discussion for psychomed tutorial, and not in some film review…
Generally, this film is about a journey, both physical and emotional. A journey of great significance. For Bree, it’s a realisation that a physical body that is entirely woman is not what she really needs to complete herself. It’s respect and acceptance from the person who mattered most - her son. For Tobey, it’s a realisation that instead of rebelling and running away from the physical abuse and it’s psychological impact, he learns to accept that fact as well as to understand that physical intimacy is not the only way to show his respect or love for a person (and that goes for all you people out there as well).
There was this scene… Bree’s in bed, wearing her flimsy night clothes, chest a bit exposed that kinda thing… Tobey enters, he’s naked, wearing only a bathrobe. He tells Bree of his feelings for her, I think he misread his attachment to her as of sexual need, instead of motherly care… (heh heh) And offers to um… u know, have SI with her and marry her (I know I know, this is highly ridiculous!) But it serves to highlight just how naive and limited his emotional state was. I felt a bit sick there. Bleah. Homosexuality, and certain um… fetishes I can tolerate, but the thought of incest is nauseating.
The most exciting scene, or the one which causes you to grip the edge of your seat and just cringe while waiting for the backlash… During the long drive through, Bree gets off to relieve herself, well, you all know how men and women have to assume um… different positions to pee… and, when she hitched up her skirt… ok, u get the idea (or more like the view), Tobey happens to see the entire shocking act in the car side mirror! horrors of horrors rite! I’m more concerned with the shock he must have had, imagine yourself being in the company of some woman you’re beginning to trust as a voice of authority who turns out to be a MAN (especially when he suffered sexual abuse under the hands of his stepdad)! imagine the betrayal! So i could understand the hurt he felt, in fact, i thought Tobey ought to have reacted more furiously than in the movie. Anyway, my friend thought that it was more worthwhile that I blog about the prosthetic p*nis. Seriously, it looked real enough to me (not that i’ve had truckloads of experience) but my friend, who is obviously more experienced was impressed by the very genuine-looking prosthesis and thought such good work should be applauded! (***clap clap clap for Oscar award for ‘most genuine fake body part***)
It’s a well-done up movie, though a little rough around the edges, definitely not as suave and smooth as ‘Brokeback Mountain’. But the journey each character takes is beautiful in its entirety. Interspersed with witty quips and occasional climaxes (not literally ok), it’s definitely worth a watch, or two.
