Transamerica - Movie Review (On the Tranny Road - Pt.2)

Transamerica 2005

After viewing our first Tranny Road Flick of the season, “Breakfast on Pluto”, (Please see Pt. 1 for the complete review) we barely had enough time to check and see if our seams were straight before we found ourselves hitching a ride aboard the “Transamerica.”

“Transamerica” concerns the plight of one Stanley “Bree” Osbourne, portrayed by Felicity Huffman in a most unique manner which we will discuss in detail later. We first meet Bree on the cusp of her final metamorphosis into a full fledged vaginal card carrying woman. She is a pre-op transsexual who is juggling a couple of fringe jobs, holding her life together with duct tape (literally) and focusing on the future. It is clear that she wishes to close the door on her past and embrace her true essence as a lady. To this end, she has been greatly aided by her therapist, Margaret – portrayed by Elizabeth Peña. Margaret is about to sign off on the final paperwork that will allow Bree her moment of transcendence when a bomb is thrown into the plans. Relax, not that kind of bomb.

This bomb is named Toby Wilkins and as embodied by one child actor turned blisteringly hot twink teen thespian – Kevin Zegers – babies, we are here to tell you that yes indeed, he is the bomb! It seems that Toby is Bree’s biological son, or rather; he is Stanley’s son from a long forgotten collegiate dalliance into the world of man on woman sex. Ewwwww! Grody. Now, if that were the extent of the drama their reunion might have fared better than it does. But, for the sake of storytelling and the fundamentals of scripting a Tranny Road Trip – Toby is not the proverbial Prodigal Son. No, no . . . instead he is chain-smoking, coke snorting dimestore whore. Literally. (The film chooses to portray these characteristics as negatives. Curious.) Toby phones Bree from a juvenile lock-up, hoping to find his birth father. At first, Bree wants nothing to do with him, but once her therapist catches wind and refuses to okay the forthcoming “Bobbit-ectomy” she has a lightning flash change of heart and opts to bail him out. Bree embarks on bailing young Toby out of the pokey, and once she fully realizes the extant of his wayward ways decides she might have a go at helping him escape his downward spiral. They start on a cross country sojourn, ostensibly to reunite the kid with his dream image of a father. Or so he believes. You see kids, in helping Toby out; Bree has neglected to mention two small items. A. His penis. B. The fact that she is in reality, or once was Stanley.

Now, we will not list the various pitfalls, stops and starts of their journey – we will leave that to you to fully witness. (And you should, by the way) Instead, we will note that as any good Road Trip movie will showcase, the plot is less important than the emotional connection the characters make. From Hollywood’s earliest fascination with the genre: “It Happened One Night”, “Sullivan’s Travels”, “The Defiant Ones”, to the later genre busting fare – “Easy Rider”, “Harry & Tonto”, “Thelma & Louise” – the Road Trip movie has been more concerned with the developing relationship between two strangers who set out on a life changing quest framed by interesting locations, de rigueur quirky hitchhikers, and the inevitable picture postcard ready moment when the central characters find themselves trudging down life’s highway once having lost their means of transportation due to some theft / violence / or harebrained neglect. “Transamerica” brings nothing new to the Road Trip formula except two interesting leads that are portrayed with veracity, bravery and a blissfully welcomed sense of humor.

Felicity Huffman has garnered oodles of good press and praise for her gutsy turn as Bree. We do when all is said and done applaud the performance. But we will go on the record as stating that it took us the majority of the trip to warm up to it. Now, we have admired Mrs. William H. Macy since her stage dust beginnings, thru critically praised yet bizarrely unpopular fare, to her Emmy winning regular primetime gig on the rapidly sinking “Desperate Housewives.” As Bree, the woman trapped in her priapic existence, Felicity opted to play the role with a physical manifestation that at first appears to border on Kabuki. She is stiff, disjointed, twitchy and mannered to the hilt. We would have thrown up our hands in disgust if it weren’t for Ms. Huffman’s complete commitment to the role which in turn makes the choices not only palatable but somehow endearing. It is at once a larger than life performance grounded by an emotional core that hits paydirt. Like similar cinematic gargoyles: Gloria Swanson in “Sunset Blvd.”, Bette Davis in “Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?” and Faye Dunaway in “Mommie Dearest”, Felicity is an accomplished enough thespian to succeed under the layers of artifice and seemingly impenetrable mask.

As her erstwhile son, Kevin Zegers is almost too distracting in his physical beauty. Especially next to the jittering and heavily made up Felicity. (What’s with those ears?) Normally, we think it really sucks when the male lead is prettier than the female lead. (See: Renée Zellweger’s entire career.) But in this case, it works. We have to believe that this young man is getting by only on his looks, and no it was not lost on us that Bree is taken aback at her own attraction to the fruit of her loins.
Our newest Boy Toy dreamboat, Kevin was apparently born in a trunk. Maybe not at the Princess Theatre in Pocatello, Idaho . . . but this breakthrough role is hardly his first. A seasoned pro at the ripe old age of 21, he has appeared in numerous kiddie fare, from the “Air Bud” franchise thru another tired rehash of “Treasure Island.” While this flick may not reach the widest audience to ensure a “Brad Pitt-like Road Trip Flick Star Making Turn”, he more than holds his own against the awesome talent of Felicity. This is praise indeed.

As for the remainder of the cast: Elizabeth Peña is fine but underused as the therapist. (Go rent her more praiseworthy turn in the truly wonderful “Lone Star” to see the talent she possesses.) Carrie Preston and Burt Young as Bree’s sister and father do perfunctory work. The real stand-outs besides the leads are Graham Greene as the Native American rancher who comes to the physical and emotional aid of Bree and Toby at the lowest point along their journey. We have missed seeing Graham in a good role since his famous Oscar nominated turn in “Dances With Wolves” way back in 1990. (Good roles for Injuns must be rare round these parts, huh?) He is a master at the daunting task of natural screen acting and charisma.

And as Bree’s cloying, spoiled, sun burnt retiree mother, Fionnula Flanagan almost steals the damn show! A seasoned stage veteran best remembered for her Emmy winning turn eons ago in the once seminal TV mini-series “Rich Man, Poor Man” to her more recent ghostly turn in the deliciously atmospheric “The Others”, Fionnula has lost none of her acting savvy or screen presence.

Writer / Director Duncan Tucker should be commended for his casting choices and sensible handling of the particulars, but might want to brush up on his “Auteur 101” classes in order to finesse his film set-ups and pacing. We found his work to be decent enough, but sadly never worthy of an ovation. The performances on the other hand by Felicity, Kevin, Fionnula and Graham did indeed inspire us to cheer. They are the heart and soul of the piece, and well worth the price of admission. For that matter, one ass shot of our future boyfriend Kevin Zegers should be enough reason for you lesser mortals. Bless you all!

Written and Directed by Duncan Tucker

Starring
Felicity Huffman as Stanley “Bree” Osbourne
Kevin Zegers as Toby Wilkins
Elizabeth Peña as Margaret
Graham Greene as Calvin Manygoats
Fionnula Flanagan as Elizabeth Osbourne
Burt Young as Murray Osbourne
Carrie Preston as Sidney Osbourne

Cinematography by Stephen Kazmierski
Film Editing by Pam Wise
Original Music by David Mansfield
Production Design by Mark White
Set Decoration by Lisa Scoppa
Costume Design by Danny Glicker
Makeup by Jason Hayes