Transamerica (2005)
Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins
Theatrical Release: Dec 2, 2005 Limited
Box Office: $8,713,873
Synopsis: Felicity Huffman leaves the glamor of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES behind and makes a surprising diversion with this offbeat film. Playing an uptight male-to-female transsexual named Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne (née Stanley), Huffman gives a remarkable performance. Readying herself for the... Felicity Huffman leaves the glamor of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES behind and makes a surprising diversion with this offbeat film. Playing an uptight male-to-female transsexual named Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne (née Stanley), Huffman gives a remarkable performance. Readying herself for the final snip that will make her womanly transformation complete, Bree's life takes a sudden turn when she receives a phone call from New York. Her son, Toby (Kevin Zegers), has been jailed, and Bree needs to post bail for him. The only problem is, Bree didn't know she had a son, but her therapist refuses to give her written permission to have the final part of her sex-change operation if she doesn't go, so Bree heads east from her California home. Thinking Bree is a Christian missionary, gay hustler Toby informs her of his intention to become a porn star on the west coast, which brings out plenty of motherly instincts in the worried cross-gender father. So the two take a road trip back west, with Bree unable to tell Toby the truths about who she is and what she once was. Writer/director Duncan Tucker gets the balance between comedy and drama just right as he gently squeezes Bree's various revelations to Toby onto the screen. But it's Huffman who really shines, with her vocal inflections, makeup, and acting skills perfectly combining to give a convincing performance as the ultraconservative Bree. Tucker doesn't focus too much on Bree's gender-hopping, instead crafting an emotional portrait of a highly dysfunctional family, while constantly dragging his audience back from the brink by weaving a killer laugh-out-loud line into the plot. A fine supporting cast--in particular Fionnula Flanagan (THE OTHERS) as Bree's hilariously overbearing mother--helps to deflect from the film's low-budget origins, with pithy dialogue and energetic performances combining to make TRANSAMERICA a wonderfully satisfying treat. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Felicity Huffman, Fionnula Flanagan, Kevin Zegers, Graham Greene, Burt Young
Producer: Rene Bastin, Linda Moran, Sebastian Dungan
Screenwriter: Duncan Tucker
Composer: David Mansfield
DVD Info
Release:
May 23, 2006
DVD Features:
- Keep Case
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
- Closed Caption - English
- Subtitles - Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Bonus Footage - 1. Behind the Scenes of the making of the music video
- Music Video - 1. DOLLY PARTON - "Travelin' Through"
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Tucker's screenplay is sharp but also sensitive, so the ample good humour never drifts into high camp (apart from the scenes with Bree's mother - and SHE is straight).
Comfort food for a comfortable audience, with the TV-familiar Huffman reassuring viewers that she's really a real woman underneath that unflattering make-up.
A big part of the movie's success is Huffman's irresistible and remarkable performance as Bree, a character we identify with rather than feel alienated by.
La sorprendente composición de Felicity Huffman es el principal atractivo de esta road movie agridulce.
(Huffman's) performance is one of those rare pieces of acting that actually deserves to be labeled a tour de force.
Huffman gives it her all, transforming her physicality and her voice and revealing a character whose lifetime of pain and heartache is present in every gesture.
Despite the dullness of the main character, there are enough other interesting characters and plot developments to make the story compelling.
By turns hysterically funny and heartbreaking, Transamerica is a film of tremendous warmth, charm and perception anchored to a central performance of unique power.
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