Transamerica

Duncan Tucker, USA, 2005, 103 minutes

Bree Osbourne is a wonderfully pastel clad, pre-op transsexual who is disgusted with her penis, has but one friend (her therapist) and has just discovered she has a son. Enter Toby, a rather troubled teenage junkie, whoring himself on the streets of New York. Posing as a Christian missionary do-gooder, Bree bails Toby out of prison and instigates a father son road trip across America, filled with dry humour, grammar correction and of course, Huffman.s prosthetic penis. As with most road trips their bond grows stronger and they discover more about each other, but will Toby accept Bree? Will Bree accept Toby? You will most certainly enjoy finding out.

Felicity Huffman won a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit Award for her performance as Bree and, despite not winning the Oscar, has firmly made her mark as much, much more than just .the old one from Desperate Housewives.. She is truly outstanding, creating an individual who, despite appearing so emotionally closed off, allows the viewer to empathise with a non-traditional character that, in lesser films, may have been difficult to relate to.

Toby is played by the rather hunky Kevin Zegers (who, according to the ever reliable Heat magazine, is dating Kelly Osbourne) who plays the role as an impressive, though perhaps occasionally shocking, mix of confused emotions, lies and sexuality. He has a plethora of issues to rival Bree.s and longs to meet his mystery father who he imagines to be incredibly inspiring and completely unlike the woman he has gotten to know so well on the long drive to L.A.

This film consistently has an edge, refusing to be overly sentimental, yet inducing tears almost as easily as it effortlessly invites laughter. Transamerica is bold, incredibly funny and one of the most impressive independent films I have seen in recent years.

Review by Katherine Sellar
Written for EUFS Programme Autumn 2006