Film Review: Transamerica (2005) B-

Date Viewed: 6/22/06
Venue: DVD

Transamerica is the much-ballyhooed film that features Desperate Housewife Felicity Huffman playing a pre-op transsexual. It’s a daring role that requires Ms. Huffman to shed any sense of ‘natural’ femininity and play a man desperately trying to be a woman.

But at its heart, Transamerica is a road picture. A week before her final sex-change operation, Bree (Huffman) discovers she (or…uh, I guess he in this case) had fathered a teenage son who hustles on the streets of New York City. Called upon to bail the boy out of jail, Bree drives cross-country to retrieve him at the behest of his/her therapist, who feels this loose end of Bree’s life must be taken care of before any operation can proceed.

The journey back from New York is full of discover as the unlikely pair get to know one another. As good as Felicity Huffman is playing an awkward man/woman, Kevin Zegers is even better as the son with a sweet sense of real-world naiveté coupled with a harsh street edge, a very rich and multilayered character.

My problems with the film begin with Bree. Felicity Huffman is great (as always), but Bree is not a consistently sympathetic character, she frets to the point of annoyance, and most importantly, and it really bothers me she takes so long (more than 2/3rds of the film) to tell her son her true relation to him. That’s…well, that’s chicken.

The film also seems to come to a dead halt about 2/3rds in as the pair, out of money, wind up at Bree’s parents house. Seeing Bree’s twisted family environment is worthwhile and necessary, it just takes too long.

I applaud the filmmakers for telling a story about characters and situations that are so rarely seen in mainstream film. But some irritating character issues and a crawl-like third act prevent me from endorsing this heartily.