Movie Vault

Reviewed by: Desro

For those of you who are as pop culture as me you might recognize the star of Trans America of that of Desperate Housewives, Felicity Huffman. Once I was able to wrap my head around the fact that Felicity, playing Stanley who is becoming Bree, you are able to settle in to what is quite an entertaining flick. For the first fifteen minutes of the movie I found myself staring at Felicity, having a hard time trying to remember that she was supposed to be playing a man, becoming a woman, not a woman who was always a woman. I stared at her face amazed at how many men I personally has seen with the same bone structure and wondered how I had never noticed this as she play a frantic housewife on evening t.v.

Kevin Zeger enters as Bree’s son Toby and this where I finally pull my attention away from tearing our transgendered star to pieces. While the movie moves quite quickly with witty commentary, amusing scene changes, and throwing a little bit of drugs and alcohol into the mix, I began to get frustrated with the characters. Not so much Toby, whom is thought to be the one who would lack understanding of his father’s lifestyle choice, but of Bree for being given so many perfect opportunities on their road trip to tell Toby the truth. The son has obviously has a tough life as it is, and wouldn’t be phased by one more curve ball.

While I admire the direction of this film, and think that it’s cast deserves nothing but immense gratitude, especially Felicity Huffman for taking on such a complex character and delivering it with such a genuine feeling, I think the writers may have left something to be desired in portions of the movie. As authentic as the Stanley (Bree’s) family members were, their lush lifestyle in Phoenix, their over the top reactions and their sudden acceptance… I was left rather stunned by how uneffective these characters were compared to the first three quarters of the film. Perhaps because they weren’t built up enough to have such a huge change of heart towards the end? I didn’t feel I got to know these characters well enough to sympathize, or empathize with them.

Not only am I ecstatic that more and more directors are taking on such obscure films, that the big screen has began to open it’s arms to movies so real, and that actors and actresses are plunging into a world that is so vast and so honest, speaking for those who have been shut up for so long, I have to be nothing more than thankful. Maybe I am giving this movie two thumbs up because of what it represents and not so much how it was played out but I still really enjoyed it no matter how badly I wanted to change the way it ended, or how some scenes played out. It was really quite a victory for all the players involved.