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Transamerica (2005)

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124 out of 149 people found the following comment useful :-
Felicity Huffman's wry performance is Oscar quality, 10. August 2005

Author: bliss_s von United States

I first saw Transamerica as the closing film for the Frameline film festival in San Francisco where it won the "The Frameline Audience Award for Best Feature". The film was obviously a labor of love. Duncan Tucker wrote, directed and wisely cast Felicity Huffman as Bree (before she had been cast as a "desperate housewife"). Huffman's husband William Macy was executive producer.

The plot line is certainly the tried and true formula of the transformational road trip, yet the irony of Bree's concurrent sexual transformation freshens a story that could easily have been cliché. Kevin Zegers and the rest of the supporting cast are superb, but Huffman's characterization of Bree is Oscar caliber.

See Transamerica! It's not tragic like "Boys Don't Cry". It's not about sexuality, fetish, or camp. It's a movie about otherness, transformation, family, and ultimately acceptance. Felicity Huffman's Golden Globe winning and Oscar nominated performance is absolutely astounding. 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.

I saw this movie again during it's limited distribution, again in general distribution and now own the DVD. Each time I've watched it I find even more to like. Transamerica is an indie classic.

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95 out of 109 people found the following comment useful :-
People who might really exist, 18. Oktober 2005

Author: slabihoud (slabihoud@vienna.at) von Vienna, Austria

TRANSAMERICA is a film where you meet people who might really exist. And real people are not only great or terrible, they are mostly both. It is the acting and the dialog which makes all the difference. The film offers a blueprinted storyline of two people who don't know each other traveling together across the US, from NY to LA. Memories of MIDNIGHT RUN and RAIN MAN do come up once in a while. But still this is everything but a Hollywood product. 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. That subject and, the fact, that the role is played by an actress signifies a very different approach to the old gender questions. The film offers funny moments too, but never makes fun about a man, wanting to be a woman. The film is very subtle, and it is really a pity when it is finally over. It displays very well that great stories don't require great budgets to make great films! 9 out of 10!

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64 out of 74 people found the following comment useful :-
Excellent real-life comedy/drama from a different point of view, 27. April 2005

Author: lrapoport von United States

I saw Transamerica last night at the Tribeca Film Festival and absolutely loved it. I was concerned beforehand that I would not be able to relate to the characters, but that turned out not to be a problem. The acting of Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zegers is done with so much sincerity that I quickly came to care about their characters. Ms. Huffman's performance is one of the best I have seen. Having not seen any of her television or movies, I did not know anything about her. In fact, I thought that she was truly a man playing the part of the transsexual woman. The script was always believable and allowed Ms. Huffman to show some wry humor. The writer/director Duncan Tucker was there to make a few comments answer questions. The only problem is that the film has not yet been picked up by a distributor so if you want to see it (and you should) you may have to find a film festival somewhere.

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58 out of 64 people found the following comment useful :-
Adam At the Cusp of Eve, 7. Februar 2006

Author: nycritic

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

There will be people who on viewing this film by Duncan Tucker will find themselves repulsed by its nature, maybe fascinated a little, or trying to nit-pick the situations that develop at the second half. But for once, finally, like its sister film BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, there is a film which doesn't use the transgendered person as the butt of a joke. At last a movie that humanizes the experience and makes it accessible to anyone who watches it regardless of gender preference.

I'd been anxious to watch TRANSAMERICA on the heels of having watched NORMAL on HBO which also dealt on the same subject: a man who comes out to himself as being trapped in the wrong sex. Both films skirt away from too much melodrama and treat the issue with the dignity that it deserves, with the difference that TRANSAMERICA veers off into flat-out comedy with Bree's arrival to her family's home but even that looks welcome in a story that could have become tedious despite its risky subject matter.

The story of Bree, formerly known as Stanley, who is "this close" to getting her lifelong dream of being a woman, except for a little problem: she has a son, now 17 years old, who's in jail, and she must come to terms with him before taking this final step. She's none too happy: this means opening the door back to her old life as a man and she's not about to do this. The kid is a total hindrance. So she decides to keep it a secret, bail him out, drive him to Los Angeles, and be done with him.

And that in short is the entire set-up of TRANSAMERICA. It's a road movie about two people involved in an uneasy relationship, but unlike many road movies, these are two real, conscious, breathing people who tell more about their lives than any flashback sequence. Toby, for instance, isn't just another teen with troubles but someone who dreams to meet his father, who doesn't want to go to his home town because of a hideous secret that lives there. His incursion into porn remains unexplained, but many pornstars have a history of some form of abuse and a need to be loved but an ingrained fear of rejection which is the main issue with Toby. He wants a father but wonders will he be rejected. Kevin Zegers plays Toby like a quieter, but still intense Leo DiCaprio.

Felicity Huffman, needless to say, has the meatier role. She seems to be adept in playing real people who have real stories to tell as in her turn as Lynette Scavo on "Desperate Housewives". Since not much is said about Bree (except that she, like Bree from the show as played by Marcia Cross is also a perfectionist if a dowdier one, a woman who obsesses over voice inflections and personal appearance and social decorum), everything is left to Huffman's body language and facial expressions. I kept wondering what it was that made her, as Stanley, veer off into what seems to be an underachieving life when she had it all. Since many transsexuals have gone this path -- leaving a life of "normalcy" and working odd jobs, trying to blend in or to live as a "stealth" -- it didn't surprise me when I saw that Bree was a waitress in a Mexican restaurant. Transsexuals for the majority live lonely lives, and unless they are in gender-tolerant cities, they won't be found in the corporate arena. Many of them go through incredible hardships and meet violent ends. Some thrive as performers, on the fringes of society, seen as "freaks" to be snickered at. That is what we as a society impose on them: a friendly alienation. Huffman manages to bring all that forth in the way she behaves among people -- even how she is in her own home, all practiced gestures and shy manners. She is her role, down to her private parts.

And bold, for showing them -- where most actresses over the age of forty would balk at a nude scene Huffman dives in, and even though it's short, because we've seen her with a fake penis on two occasions, it's fitting to see her as the woman she is portraying. Very, very daring without being exploitative.

TRANSAMERICA is more tolerant and compassionate than it seems at first. Like I stated, the film does not leer at her like a freak of nature but a real person, though she herself, her need for perfection, is the one to bring out the laughter. It may not eventually be awarded the Oscar for Best Actress but as of now it's going down in history as being a sensitive portrayal of a woman trying to make it in the world with her son.

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61 out of 75 people found the following comment useful :-
TRANSAMERICA: Dare 2 Be Different & Win Over The Audience, 2. Dezember 2005

Author: screenwriter-14 von United States

The journey Ms. Huffman takes in TRANSAMERICA is one in which many will identify with in needing to become the person you really should be. 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.

Please, give Felicity Huffman the Oscar NOW!!! 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.

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49 out of 61 people found the following comment useful :-
A Touching Film with an Oscar-Worthy Performance, 4. Mai 2005

Author: jhnnypanic von United States

This was my favorite film of the Tribeca festival. Felicity Huffman's performance is incredible and grabs you from the first scene. It was a smart, poignant and funny film. Some of the characters are too thinly drawn, some of the humor too inappropriately broad but those were minor issues for me. Though rooted in some ways in standard plot devices, the transgender protagonist makes all the difference in the world. Which, in a way, is kind of the point -- how we view people's differences (with acceptance or disdain) says a lot about who we are. Of course, it played well here in New York City. But what about the rest of Bush's America? By the way, I was told that Lions Gate picked up the film for distribution.

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37 out of 49 people found the following comment useful :-
Incredible movie - Great performances, 24. Oktober 2005

Author: ryan-605 von United States

Huffman did a terrific job of making me forget a "star" was doing the title role. Her performance was incredibly authentic. 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. Others brought me near tears. If you see one movie this year, this should be it. 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.

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46 out of 69 people found the following comment useful :-
A REALLY good film. Its about humanity and bonding and people being themselves., 28. Juni 2005

Author: mzve von United States

I was excited to be involved in a film concerning trans-gendering. I was particularly happy about the exquisite care taken by the writer/director, Duncan Tucker, and the stars Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zeger to NOT trivialize or titillate the issue. A very good film. The humor and relevance of this film seems, to me, to be self-explanatory in this global and interactive world. I think this film could be educational, entertaining and a calming influence in a world that is increasingly diverse.

As far as production values, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the film did not look "low budget". The settings, cinematography, acting and directing was as professional as anything I've EVER seen. Very Good Job by all involved. KUDOS!!!!

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24 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Two for the road, 26. Februar 2006

Author: jotix100 von New York

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Bree Osbourne has been a woman trapped in a man's body all her life. She has come to the decision that will change her forever and perhaps live a happier life, than the one she has led up to that moment when we meet her. Unfortunately for her, fate intervenes in a way she didn't even planned upon.

Duncan Tucker, the director and writer of "Transamerica", takes a difficult subject and expanded on it. This is not exactly what any Hollywood films dare to present to a general audience since it deals with a frank approach to a subject that is not commonly seen treated so honestly and with so much integrity. Mr. Tucker shows a respectful restraint in the way he shows his story that is never shocking, or in one's face.

"Transamerica" is basically a road movie. It takes us to New York, first, where Bree has come to bail out the son, Toby, she never knew about, but who appears to be a real person, and he stands in the way, since Toby, the young man, is suddenly her responsibility and she must face the consequences. "Transamerica" is a cross country trip where two people get to spend some time together as they travel this vast country from New York to Los Angeles.

Toby, a male hustler working the streets of Manhattan, questions Bree's motives because he doesn't want any part of what she proposes to him. First, a stop to see his step-father is something he would rather not do. He doesn't have any happy memories of a man that has abused him sexually while he lived at home. Toby, for all his street smarts, evidently doesn't even guess what Bree is really like until an incident where he discovers the truth.

"Transamerica" is a film about discoveries. Bree is at first horrified when she is told about Toby. Little by little, her instincts start smoothing things over, until she accepts the teen ager as a part of herself. The relationship between them flourish along the highways where they are seen traveling and make them come closer together, as they should.

The best thing to see the film is because of the wonderful job Felicity Huffman does in her portrayal of Bree. The actress disappears in the role in ways one couldn't imagine. The mannerisms of the trans gender woman are captured almost effortless by Ms. Huffman, who carries the film on her shoulders and runs away with it. Her performance is nothing but perfection.

Kevin Zegers plays Toby, the son Bree knew nothing about. It's a credit to this young actor to blend perfectly with the more experienced Ms. Huffman and making this young man true to life. The supporting playing by Fionnula Flanagan, Burt Young, Elizabeth Pena, and Graham Greene, among others, compliment the film well.

The credit for presenting this film belongs to the courage of Duncan Tucker, who wrote a beautiful screen play and then directed with love and understanding for a thorny subject.

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30 out of 40 people found the following comment useful :-
"Transamerica" is a delightful movie and a grasp of fresh air for independent movies....., 14. November 2005

Author: movie_man2006 von Brazil

Independent movies have been losing some of their force during the years. They have not been making so much profit, partially because of so many blockbusters and successful franchises that are more and more often in the cinematic world. But out of all the independent films I've seen recently, "Transamerica" was the one that stayed in my mind. Wheter it is a touching comedy or funny drama, it is most importantly an amazing film, with polemic issues and intense character development.

"Transamerica" is a delightful movie and it sure is a grasp of fresh air for independent movies. The story is bold and never have I imagined a movie like this would dare come out. Hats off to Duncan Tucker, the writer/director of this great film. A male-to-female transsexual travels to New York after discovering she fathered a son, which is a rebellious runaway. Felicity Huffman is incredibly great in her role, making the viewer feel what she's feeling. Never has any actress been so good in her role as Felicity is. Everyone in the film deserves thumbs-up, but Felicity truly delivers.

To concentrate even more in the film's boldness and smartness would be the obvious. "Transamerica" is marvelous and that's enough. Although definitely not perfect (the film is somewhat long and sometimes boring), "Transamerica" offers much more any other independent movie I've seen could've offered.-----8/10

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