Fridae

Actress Felicity Huffman is known for her role of the absurdly
busy mother of four in Desperate Housewives. And in some
interviews she has given, she talks about how she is so much less
attractive than her co-stars Eva Longoria, Teri Hatcher and Marcia
Cross. Well, she has a point.

She is unattractive. But it is her absolute lack of vanity that
makes her performance as a pre-op transvestite in Transamerica
so brave, honest and compelling. She plays a man who was born Stanley
but now wants to be a woman named Bree. Just before her operation
to become a full-fledged woman, she receives a call from young Toby
(Kevin Zegers) in jail, who claims to be Stanley's son. Apparently,
when Bree was Stanley, Stanley slept with a woman who gave birth
to Toby. Of course, Bree has no idea he/she had fathered a child.
Now Toby is looking for his real father Stanley, but Bree decides
to help Toby find his step-father instead.

Are you with us so far? Not to worry. The film makes all these
connections crystal-clear, because these connections are the very
ingredients for Transamerica's big comic and dramatic moments.
Because of this, the movie comes across as sometimes sincere in
trying to show Bree as a normal human being, and other times a tad
exploitative in milking her sexual orientation for comedy.

But what makes the movie soar above Duncan Tucker's patchy script
and direction is Felicity Huffman marvelous and endearing performance
as Bree. Even an LGBT audience with an expert eye would actually
believe that Bree is anatomically a man with a woman trapped inside.
Felicity's gender-bending turn is actually better than Dustin Hoffman
as Tootsie, Robin William as Mrs Doubtfire and
Julie Andrews as Victor/Victoria. Tipped to win the Best
Actress Oscar, Felicity proves she is one desperate housewife who
knows how to wear the pants.