Transamerica
Directed by: Duncan Tucker

Premise: Felicity Huffman plays a transgendered man who is days away from a sex change operation when his son (Kevin Zegers) reenters his life.

What Works: Transamerica has a number of really great performances. Felicity Huffman’s role as a transgendered man is among the great performances of the past year and the film as a whole is one of the few honest portrayals of the transgendered community that has been seen in American cinema. Zegers’ role as Huffman’s son has an equally complex character who is simultaneously precocious but emotionally naïve. The supporting cast is also very strong including Burt Young and Venida Evans as Huffman’s parents.

What Doesn’t: Aside from the unique characters of the film, very little is original about the film. It is fundamentally a road trip and a family bonding story and does not deviate much from these formulas, although it does do the formulas very well.

Bottom Line: Transamerica is a very strong film that treats its characters with dignity. While it does not do anything unique in its genres, the film does have some authentic parent-child moments and manages to include some humor along the way.