Felicity Huffman is superb in the movie TransAmerica. All the actors are good and the movie is able to carry off a serious topic with humor. TransAmerica is a story about a not so young person who started out life as Stanley and is now calling herself Bree. Bree gets a call about her biological son and ends up bailing him out of jail played very successfully by Kevin Zegers.
They both end up taking a trip across America with the intent of finding a place for the son who doesn't know he is Bree's son. Bree gives the young man age 17 the impression that she is a Christian do-gooder just helping him out. It is a very funny device as Bree's character is in some ways tentative rather than devout, intelligent and curious rather than zealous. Bree is also depicted as feminine and precise bordering on fussy. She is afraid of snakes and doesn't like camping out which they are forced to do on at least one occasion. Meeting Bree's parents and her cynical sister is a highlight of the movie.
My feeling for TransAmerica is that it is delivered without sentimentality yet I experienced the entire movie in a very heartwarming way. Insight into the struggle of Transexuals is evident without hitting the moviegoer over the head with a hammer. I enjoyed the film immensely. Bree became a very real person to me. I feel she is out there somewhere living a good life, another person I know who I really respect and like. Kudos to all involved in the making of this film. Felicity Huffman definitely should win Oscar's Best Actress. I applaud and salute Bill Macy, Huffman's husband, for producing the film. Thank you.
Sharon Raphael
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After I wrote the piece on Transamerica I thought about the fact that the part could have been played by a transexual person. If it had, I wonder how it would have been received. I wonder how many transexual persons are professional actors and would be able to play the part of Bree nee Stanley. Maybe that is the next breakthrough in Hollywood that we need.
Sharon Raphael
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