Transamerica

Plot synopsis:
One week before her vaginoplasty, a conservative transgender woman named Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne (Felicity Huffman) receives an unexpected phone call from a young man named Toby Wilkins (Kevin Zegers), a 17-year-old jailed in New York City. He asks for Stanley Schupak (Bree's birth name), claiming to be Stanley's son.
Bree was previously unaware she had a son; she now wants to break with her past and renounce him. However, Bree's therapist (Elizabeth Peña) refuses permission for her operation if she does not face up to her past ties before facing her new future.
Bree flies from Los Angeles to New York City to bail Toby out of jail. Toby is a foul-mouthed runaway plus small-time drug user and male "hustler". His mother committed suicide when he was a child after which he was raised by his stepfather, whom he says he does not want to see.
Bree pretends to be a Christian missionary and persuades Toby to ride with her back to the West Coast, secretly planning to leave him at his stepfather's along the way. When they arrive in the town of Callicoon, Kentucky, it turns out that Toby's stepfather was very abusive and he molested him several times in his youth. To Bree's dismay, her plan to leave Toby with him fails miserably. Bree and Toby continue driving to Los Angeles together. They also stop by a house in Dallas where a group of transgender women (many of whom are old friends of Bree's) are hosting a gender pride gathering. Later on in the trip, when Bree has to urinate, Toby accidentally discovers that Bree has male genitalia. He tries to be open-minded about it, but is angry that Bree had not told him prior to his unintentional discovery.
After their car and money are stolen by a young hitchhiking hippie who calls himself a "peyote shaman" (Grant Monohon), Toby makes some money by prostituting himself to a truck driver. To Bree he pretends that he got the money from selling some drugs he had taken along for his own use. They get a ride with a kindly rancher Calvin Many Goats (Graham Greene) to Bree's parents' house in Phoenix, Arizona. Calvin and Bree hit it off very well and flirt a little, which disturbes Toby. Here they find her pampered and self-centred mother Elizabeth (Fionnula Flanagan), her Jewish father Murray (Burt Young) who seems to be dominated by Elizabeth, and her rebellious and sarcastic sister Sydney (Carrie Preston). Elizabeth disapproves of Bree's transsexuality (it is mentioned that she has been estranged for some time from her because of her transphobia), but is astonished to find out she has a grandson. She is kind to Toby and invites him to stay and live with them. Toby likes the luxury and kindness, but hesitates because he does not like how disrespectful they are to Bree. Realizing he has feelings for Bree, he tries to seduce her, saying that he will marry her if she wants. Bree realizes she must tell Toby the truth immediately, saying that she was his real father. Toby is appalled and infuriated that Bree had not disclosed this earlier. Overnight he steals money and valuable antiques from the house and disappears. Heartbroken, Bree returns to Los Angeles via a plane ticket bought by her parents. Her family finally accepts her calling herself Bree, she has a completely successful surgery, but she is unhappy because she feels she will never again see or hear from Toby. The therapist visits Bree in recovery and Bree, after she confesses she made a mistake, sobs and cries heavily on her shoulder.
Some months later, Bree is surprised to see Toby knock at her front door. Bree invites Toby inside and he reveals to her he has turned 18, bleached his hair blonde, and has become an adult actor in gay pornographic films in Los Angeles. Bree is vibrant, happy, and enjoying her job as a waitress at the restaurant where she was formerly washing-up. Bree and Toby reconcile, seemingly happy to have each other.

Tags: psychedelic, queer

Review:
The main character is a Transsexual named Bree, born as a man but living the past few years as a woman, only days before her operation which will definitely make her a woman.
Yet on this cross country trek, they both leave these acts they're so used to aside and embrace their new selves as a mother who helps her child see his worth and a child who makes his mother feel more like a woman than any instructional videotape or hormone she's ever seen or taken.Felicity Huffman knows how to play a reluctant mother.
While her television character's hesitation comes from a lack of confidence in her abilities to embody one of life's most natural roles, her TRANSAMERICA film persona holds back for mostly selfish reasons.
TRANSAMERICA is a film about learning how to incorporate the person you've always known yourself to be, the person you so desperately want to become and about healing the relationships with the people you meet and touch along the winding road that gets you there..
Her acting skill fills Bree with insecurity, pathos, warmth, humor, and growth which ultimately transforms the audience's involvement from freak show curiosity to empathy and identification.Thankfully the Weinstein brothers recognized just how outstandingly strong this performance is and decided that Transamerica would be one of the first films they would choose to distribute after their great success at Miramax.
Ms. Huffman's performance as a "man into a woman" played by a woman is a miracle and a triumphant film performance that an audience should see to fully understand the brilliance of what an actor can transform on film, as well as for the warm, intelligent character, Bree, becomes on the screen.
And, The young, brilliant actor, Kevin Zegers, as Toby, commands the role as Bree's son in TRANSAMERICA with just as painful a journey as Bree in wanting to have a better life for himself.
Toby and Bree are two soul mates waiting to discover one another, ironically as father and son,as this film brings to a wonderful conclusion.TRANSAMERICA is a film that should be seen to be understood; a film that presents two characters, father and son, who take a journey together that will change their lives forever.
When the Award season commences, Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zegers should be on the stage to receive awards for characters that warm your heart and take you back in time with questions on your own life's directions..
You could just feel the uncomfortableness of Bree as we see her start her journey (both figuratively and literally) and gets to know the son she never knew she had.Moments of this movie had me laughing out loud.
It is movies like this that give me hope that some people still care about quality film-making.A little gossip: the director said that Huffman enthusiastically agreed to do this film and then when it was almost time to start shooting, he found out she had to go to Hollywood in 3 months to shoot "some stupid pilot." Yes, THAT stupid pilot..
'Transamerica' is mainly a road movie about a pre-operative transsexual Bree (Huffman), her unknowing son (Zegers) and their complex yet developing relationship.
In spite of involving a risky subject, Tucker cleverly gives a comic touch to his writing by balancing it with the drama without making any of it even slightly melodramatic.Bree is just a couple of days away from fulfilling her dream of becoming a women when suddenly she receives an unexpected phone call saying that her son's in jail.
Bree is reluctant and not too happy about facing her past but after taking her therapist Margaret she goes to New York and bails her son out of jail and decides to drive with him to L.A. During this trip they tell each other about their lives (the use of flashbacks has been cleverly avoided).Felicity Huffman delivers a brave and fantastic performance of what she herself described as the role of a lifetime.
Felicity Huffman's portrayal of Bree was really true to life, and her relationship with her son and her family was very real.
"Transamerica" follows the trajectory of the long tradition of road movies with opposites paired up on a voyage of self-discovery, with stops along the way to their pasts.The gimmick here recalls "Broken Flowers"s trip when another biological father discovers a son.
Here, it's not just that the person who produced the sperm is on the verge of transsexual completion that helps the film rise above various genre clichés (there was more than passing similarity to scenes from such films as "The Sure Thing," "Smoke Signals," and "Midnight Run" in debut writer/director Duncan Tucker's script, plus unfortunate throwback images of the south from "Deliverance" and way over-the-top dysfunctional families, and some Native American commentary on transsexuals coinciding with a convenient appearance by the ever estimable Graham Greene.) As graphically embodied in two terrific performances, "Bree" (Felicity Huffman as née "Stanley") and the new-found son "Toby" have opposite relations to their bodies.
Felicity Huffman gives, hands down, one of the sharpest and bravest performances I have seen this year as Sabrina "Bree" Osbourne, a LA-based transsexual a week away from his/her final operation to rid himself/herself of the genitalia that reminds him/her that he/she was once an unhappy man named Stanley.
Rather, it is an often ribald farce that gains its dramatic resonance from the spiraling convolutions of the plot and an unexpected poignancy at key moments along the way.With his first feature-length film, director-writer Duncan Tucker has fashioned a spirited road movie that matches Bree with the 17-year old son he/she ever knew existed, Toby, a homeless, teen-aged delinquent who was the product of Stanley's fumbling attempt at sexual relations with a long-ago girlfriend who recently died.
However, in conveying Bree's prim manner, academic wellspring of knowledge and droll humor, Huffman grounds the film with an amazingly convincing impersonation of a man on the threshold of becoming a woman physically and struggling to keep up with the gender transition emotionally.Tucker wisely paints Bree's menial job as a telemarketer as a way to disclose that Stanley has been struggling for years to build the self-worth to become a woman, and Huffman responds with her character's weary demeanor and tense posture.
She is also made up simply without fuss (an expert job by Jason Hayes) to look credibly like she is precariously on the male-female border with a constant fear of falling back to her character's old self.Fortunately, Huffman is surrounded by a strong supporting cast.
Tucker also wisely uses some wonderful, under-the-radar actors in key roles  Elizabeth Peña (whom I have not seen since her poignant turn in John Sayles's 1996 "Lone Star") as Bree's strong-minded therapist Margaret; Graham Greene (Kicking Bird in "Dances with Wolves") as Bree's wishful suitor Calvin Manygoats in a sweetly rendered episode of unrequited love; and a surprisingly laid-back Burt Young (Paulie in all the Rocky films) and an especially histrionic Fionnula Flanagan as Bree's parents heavy in denial over their offspring's decision.In fact, Young, Flanagan and Carrie Preston as Bree's cynical, addiction-recovering sister Sidney are all hilarious in the movie's comedy peak as the dysfunctional family from hell when Bree and Toby barely make it to her hometown, Phoenix, prior to her operation.
I was surprised and delighted to see a good story in its own right which both explored the psychology of a trans-gender woman, and told a genuinely interesting story about honesty and trust.The main character, Bree, is awaiting her surgery to become a woman but finds out she has a son.
Feeling compelled to divulge a secret for moral reasons that could ruin you is something I can relate to and many will feel sympathy for Bree even as she goes down such a selfish and cowardly road.The film eventually takes a turn that is expected on one level, but also tragic and horrifying, and in the end it makes for a suspenseful and moving story.
The two leads give fantastic performances (I did not recognize the lead actress and did not know she was not played by a trans-gender woman), and Kevin Zegers makes for wonderful eye candy.
When "Transamerica" came out in 2005, I immediately dismissed it as an uninteresting attempt at a masterpiece; then when Felicity Huffman started winning all those prizes for her leading performance I became somewhat interested, but other films soon took my attention away.
Such an afternoon soon came, I popped the disc into my DVD player...and I was riveted to the edge of my seat from the first minute all the way to the last word of the end credits.The film follows Bree Osbourne (Felicity Huffman), an extremely conservative transsexual woman who's scheduled for her sex change operation in a week.
But her psychiatrist and best friend (Elizabeth Peña) refuses to grant her the final signature on her sex change documentation unless she travels to the other end of the country to meet her 17-year old son (Kevin Zegers) in the attempt to give closure to her past life as a man.
Every character in the movie is quirky, including Bree herself; I mean, this is a woman who dresses like she lived in the 1950's, who's conservative beyond reason, who is the picture of demureness and formality...but who looks and talks like a man and finds her penis like an abhorrent hindrance in her development as a woman.
There are some actors who are simply BORN to play a role, and Bree Osbourne is definitely THE character for Felicity Huffman.
That means nearly 40 times as many people have seen Reese Witherspoon's performance in Walk The Line than have seen Felicity Huffman's gender ambivalent turn as Bree Osbourne.
And after seeing it for the second time last night, I am convinced that Felicity Huffman deserves the Oscar for her performance, conveying the complexities of her character with wit, humor, and most importantly, humanity.
Though Tucker's narrative sometimes lacks smooth transitions between emotional fragments and his direction relies too much on its earnestness, it is cohesive and supported by strong performances by Felicity Huffman and Fionnula Flannigan (as Bree's histrionic mother).
While the subject matter may seem to many to be of narrow interest or for a special audience, I'd like to encourage all to see this fine film.As others have said here, this is a movie about humanity and bonding told through the usual venue of a road trip.
Great FIlm. I loved this movie, I had heard nothing at all about it before I saw it and so I didn't know what to expect but I thought I would have a gander and I'm so glad I did.
Initially I thought that the fact that Bree was played by a woman a little strange, I thought "why don't they cast a transsexual actor" but to be honest it really didn't effect the story at all, I'm sure it may annoy some people but my recommendation would be to watch the film anyway and see how you feel after because I totally believed the portrayal of Bree and loved the character.
I was totally drawn in by the characters (the acting is fantastic Felicity Huffman is amazing)and their relationships and I really didn't want the story to end, I would recommend this film to anyone (and in fact I shall), It has themes of family, self-acceptance, and honesty that I think really resonate.
Excellent film with great performances by Bree's family and Graham Greene..
This movie is about a male to female trans-sexual and her troubled teenage son who drive together across the country, meeting assorted characters and getting in and out of a number of scrapes on the way to finding themselves - and each other.Wait a minute...
But I thought Kevin Zegers was no less striking as the teenager, and there are some good supporting turns as well, from the likes of Burt Young.Good acting is always worth watching, so I'd recommend seeing this movie if you like this kind of thing.
It is Bree's genuinely heartfelt attempt, not to change minds or preach a cause, but to simply be accepted, that provides the emotional underpinning that manages to carry the entire movie.A great film that once again shows that if you want to meet interesting and thought-provoking characters in the cinema, you have to do so in the realm of low-budget independents..
The only thing that actually makes it watchable is some decent dialog and above all, Felicity Huffman who is very good in her role as a Transsexual (she has also been well cast, she very much looks the part too).
The screenplay should have focused much more on the aspects of every day life of a Transsexual and kept the 'newly found son story' in the back as a subplot only.The way it has been made, this movie will in my opinion only appeal to those who do not have open minds, who have no idea about what transsexualism is, who suppress such issues in their mind (and are therefore prone to be 'shocked' by it), and not to an intellectual audience as (I think) was intended.
Felicity Huffman does a good job in this movie while pretending to be a man trying to be a woman.
In the same way, I was never convinced of Bree's church lady persona, uptightness, and complete frumpiness.It is better than many movies, but still nothing all that special aside from the fact that Felicity Huffman pulls off pretending to be a man ish woman pretty well.
That shameful preconception on my part did not in the least keep me from being completely bowled over by this wonderful movie and naming it my #1 film of 2005.The trans-continental journey undertaken by Bree/Stanley and her/his son Toby is, of course, a metaphor for the road to self-discovery, and every single stop is touching and utterly true, in the deepest, most personal sense.
I was one of the people clamoring for a genuine trans-woman to play the role (I actually suggested Calpernia Addams and was glad to learn that she was at least consulted for the film), but I know totally appreciate Duncan Tucker's comments that he wanted to respect Bree's journey at its end-point with less focus on how she got there (lot of journey metaphors in the movie).
(Kevin Zegers) who gives a stunning performance as well as Felicity Huffman.With emotional and powerful scenes, Transamerica takes you on a journey"Travelin' Through' the states with magnificent scenery.
"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).
I loved this movie and recommend it to anyone who likes quirky road trip films and has an open mind.
Felicity Huffman (who is AMAZING in "Desperate Housewives") is fun to watch as the male-to-female transsexual Bree.
Felicity Huffman gives a superior performance, actually every actor in this movie does.
My favorite line is when Bree states: "My body may be a work in progress, but there is Nothing wrong with my soul!" If the general public can begin to embrace That concept whenever the topic of transsexualism pops up in random conversation, then writer / director Duncan Tucker, Bill Macy ( as Executive Producer) and particularly his wife Felicity Huffman (in her stellar performance playing the lead role as "Bree"), have done their job well !!.
But having a novel subject matter and a knockout performance from Felicity Huffman still does not make it a great movie ..
These types of movies are hard to watch for a lot of people since it's considered a taboo topic and usually make people uncomfortable!People should not avoid this film and have to open up their minds to the difference, the movie supplies great story and reveals the psychology of transgenders through really passionate story that's been authentically written I firmly believe Felicity Huffman should've won the oscar because of unrivalled performance to deliver the complexity of transgender character with light-hearted humor and as we all know it takes an extraordinary amount of courage along with confidence to accept a role like this.
I was impressed by the actresses who played bree but I would of liked an actresses who's was actually trans, but I still thought that the performance throughout the Movie was good.
Felicity Huffman gave an Academy Award nominated performance as Bree Osbourne, a transsexual on the process of becoming a woman.
Felicity Huffman plays Bree, a pre-op transsexual woman who finds out she has a son that she fathered a long time ago.
What really makes this film stand out is the excellent lead performance by Felicity Huffman who, despite being a woman, did a great job of portraying a pre-op transsexual.
This film presents two controversial main characters, the transgender woman Bree and her recently discovered drug addicted male prostitute son Toby.
The director, Duncan Tucker, and Felicity Huffman, who plays Bree, do an excellent job of portraying gender as a performance.
Bree Osbourne (Felicity Huffman), a transsexual, finds out he/she has a son.
This movie tells of the conflicts of having a 17 year-old prostitute son and a transsexual father put together in a road trip, in the hopes Bree will make it in time for a surgery in Los Angeles and Toby starting a fresh independent life, or so desired by Bree..
I thing Felicity Huffman did a great job in this movie, it was a really challenging role and not every actress could handle it (I still can't believe that she did)..
Of course, i have to mention the ultimately superb performance by actress Felicity Huffman that makes me fall in love with Bree even as a trans-gender.
Yet, even though we know where all this is probably going to end up, the film doesn't feel stale or forced, partly due to the depth of the characterizations and partly due to the brilliant performances of Huffman and young Kevin Zegers as Toby.