Transamerica

By MATTIAS FREY | January 19, 2006

3.0 Stars

TRANSAMERICA Felicity Huffman’s trans-acting rivals Hilary Swank’s in 'Boys Don’t Cry.'

Duncan Tucker’s debut feature stars Desperate Housewives’ Felicity Huffman as the pre-operative transsexual Bree. A week before going under the knife, prim Bree discovers she’s the father of a 17-year-old boy sowing his oats as a hustler in New York. At the advice of her therapist, she posts his bail and drives him cross-country to LA. The road movie that develops charts familiar territory, with emotionally loaded issues getting broached only to remain unexplored. The revelation is Huffman, who inhabits a baroque sexual identity with subtlety and restraint; her trans-acting rivals Hilary Swank’s metamorphosis in Boys Don’t Cry. Owing more to Beeban Kidron’s To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar than to Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden, Tucker’s effort nonetheless demonstrates potential, and Huffman’s performance showcases an actress in command of her craft.