Transamerica Information

Transamerica is a 2005 independent comedy-drama film 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 film is marked by an Academy Award"nominated and Golden Globe"winning performance by Huffman, who is also known for her performance in Desperate Housewives.

One of the major themes of the film is the personal journey toward self-discovery, according to interviews with the director and actors.

Plot

One week before her vaginoplasty, Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne (Felicity Huffman) receives a phone call from Toby Wilkins (Kevin Zegers), a 17-year-old jailed in New York City. He asks for Stanley Schupak (Bree's birth name), claiming to be his son.

Bree was previously unaware she had a son; she now wants to break with her past and renounce him. 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. 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 the fictional town of Callicoon, 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 when Bree has to urinate, 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 (Grant Monohon), Toby makes some money by prostituting himself to a truck driver. 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 conservative and self-centred mother Elizabeth (Fionnula Flanagan), her Jewish father Murray (Burt Young), and her rebellious and sarcastic sister Sydney (Carrie Preston). Elizabeth disapproves of Bree's transsexuality (it is mentioned that she has been estranged for sometime from her because of her transphobia), but is excited to find 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 because he does not like how disrespectful they are to Bree. Realizing he has feelings for Bree, he tries to seduce her, saying that he will marry her if she wants. Bree realizes she must tell Toby the truth, that she was his real father. Toby is angry that Bree had not disclosed this earlier. Overnight he steals money from the house and disappears. Bree returns to Los Angeles. She has a completely successful surgery, but is not happy because she feels she messed up with Toby. The therapist visits her in recovery and Bree cries on her shoulder.

Some months later Toby has bleached his hair and become an actor in gay pornographic films in Los Angeles. Bree is vibrant, happy, and enjoying her job as a waitress at the restaurant where she was formerly washing-up. The film ends with Toby showing up at Bree's door, and the two reconciled.

Cast

• Felicity Huffman as Sabrina Clair "Bree" Osbourne (formerly Stanley Schupak)
• Kevin Zegers as Toby Wilkins
• Graham Greene as Calvin Many Goats
• Fionnula Flanagan as Elizabeth Schupak
• Burt Young as Murray Schupak
• Carrie Preston as Sydney Schupak
• Elizabeth Peña as Margaret

Critical reception

The film received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 76 percent 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." Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 66 out of 100, based on 37 reviews.

Nominations and awards

• Independent Spirit Awards
  • Won " Best Female Lead (Felicity Huffman)
  • Won " Best First Screenplay (Duncan Tucker)
  • Nominated " Best First Feature " (Duncan Tucker, Sebastian Dungan, Linda Moran, Rene Bastian)
• Academy Awards
  • Nominated " Best Actress (Felicity Huffman)
  • Nominated " Best Song (Dolly Parton, for the song Travelin' Thru)
• Berlin International Film Festival
  • Won " Reader Jury of the "Siegessäule"
• Broadcast Film Critics Association
  • Nominated " Best Actress (Felicity Huffman)
  • Nominated " Best Song (Dolly Parton, for the song "Travelin' Thru")
• Deauville Film Festival
  • Won " Best Screenplay (Duncan Tucker)
  • Nominated " Grand Special Prize
• GLAAD Media Awards
  • Won " Outstanding Film " Limited Release
• Golden Globes
  • Won " Best Actress in a Drama (Felicity Huffman)
  • Nominated " Best Original Song (Dolly Parton, for the song "Travelin' Thru")
• National Board of Review
  • Won " Best Actress (Felicity Huffman)
• Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards 2005
  • Won " Best Original Song (Dolly Parton, for the song "Travelin' Thru")
• Satellite Awards
  • Won " Best Actress (Felicity Huffman)
• Screen Actors Guild Award
  • Nominated " Best Actress in a Lead Role (Felicity Huffman)
• Tribeca Film Festival
  • Won " Best Actress (Felicity Huffman)
• Cannes Film Festival 2006
  • Won (Chopard Trophy) " Male Revelation Kevin Zegers

See also

• Transgender in film and television