Transamerica is a
2005 independent dramedy produced by
IFC Films and
The Weinstein Company. The film tells the story of Bree, a
transsexual woman (
Felicity Huffman), who goes on a
road trip with her long-lost son Toby (
Kevin Zegers).
The movie is marked by an Academy Award-nominated and Golden Globe-winning performance by Huffman, who is also known for her
Emmy Award-winning performance in
Desperate Housewives.
Plot
One week before her
vaginoplasty, Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne (
Felicity Huffman) receives a phone call from Toby Wilkins (
Kevin Zegers), a bisexual 17-year-old jailed in
New York City. He asks for Stanley Schupak (Bree's former name), claiming to be his son.
Bree was previously unaware she had a son; she now wants to break with his past and renounce him. She argues that given her son's age he can take care of himself. However, Bree's
therapist (
Elizabeth Peña) refuses permission for her operation if she does not face up to her past.
Bree flies from
Los Angeles to New York to bail Toby out of jail. Toby is a small-time drug user and
male hustler with both men and women. His mother committed suicide, after which he was raised by his stepfather, whom he does not want to see again.
Bree pretends to be a
Christian missionary and persuades Toby to ride with her back to the West Coast, secretly planning to leave him at his stepfather's along the way. When they arrive in
Kentucky it turns out that Toby's stepfather
molested him as a child, and so this plan fails. Toby and Bree continue to Los Angeles together. They also stop by a house where a group of transsexuals are hosting a gender pride gathering. During the trip, Toby accidentally discovers that Bree is transsexual. He is open-minded about it, but is angry that Bree had not told him.
After their car and money are stolen by a "
peyote shaman" hitchhiker, Toby helps out by making some money by means of prostitution which he had been doing back in New York, finding a truck driver for a client. To Bree he pretends that he got the money from selling some drugs he had taken along for his own use. They get a ride with a kindly rancher Calvin Many Goats (
Graham Greene) to Bree's parents' house in
Phoenix, Arizona. Here they find her very Christian mother Elizabeth (
Fionnula Flanagan), her Jewish father Murray (
Burt Young), and her rebellious and sarcastic sister Sydney (
Carrie Preston). Elizabeth is very negative about Bree's transsexuality, but excited about finding out she has a grandson. She is kind to Toby, and invites him to stay and live with them. Toby likes the luxury and kindness, but hesitates. Toby, realizing he has some type of feelings for Bree, proposes to have sex with her (as having sex is the only way he knows to express love and emotion), saying that he will marry her if she wants to. Bree realizes she must tell Toby the truth, that she was his real father. She does so and Toby is angry that Bree had not disclosed this earlier. Toby is disappointed in view of his fantasies how great his father might be. He leaves and travels on alone.
Back in Los Angeles, Bree has her surgery, but breaks down into tears in the recovery room. Toby, who bleached his hair and also went to LA, becomes an actor in
gay pornography films. A glimpse of a film shoot reveals that he has trouble having an
erection when required, in spite of using
Viagra. Toby visits Bree, and the two reconcile. He shows a leaflet about an upcoming DVD in which he performs, and tells Bree that he can get her a discount. The film's final words of dialogue show that they have reached a level of mutual respect.
One of the major themes of the film is the personal journey toward self-discovery, according to interviews with the director and actors.
Cast
Critical reception
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes reported that 76% of critics gave
Transamerica positive reviews, based on 132 reviews, with the consensus that "a terrific performance by Felicity Huffman carries this unconventional but touching transgender road movie."
reported the film had an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.
Trivia
- The initial idea for the screenplay occurred in a conversation between screenwriter/director Duncan Tucker and intersex actress Katherine Connella. While discussing male/female perceptions, Connella shocked Tucker (they had been sharing a house for about four months at the time) with the revelation that she had been raised as a male.
- This is the first non-Miramax film to be acquired by Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein.
- Dolly Parton wrote and performed the song played over the closing credits, "Travelin' Thru", which was nominated for an Academy Award. It was her second nomination, her first being "9 to 5", twenty-five years earlier.
Nominations and awards
See also
