Transamerica

By Mike Vario

In this movie “Transamerica” the main character’s name is "Bree", formerly known as Stanley. She's an awkward woman or what appears to be a woman, still trying to find herself as well as her balance while walking in heels. Her awkwardness makes her uncomfortable in public. She has a very deep and unwomanly voice that is a dead giveaway to her true gender. Bree is just days away from taking the final step in his gender modification when a call brings her to New York to bail the teenage son she never knew about out of jail. He was the result of Stanley's one heterosexual fling from juvenile days. While seeing her psychiatrist about her problems and her life she is told she cannot go through with the surgery until she deals with her issue at hand, her son; Toby. Toby is a confused teen, who has been hustling on the streets for drug money ever since running away from home. His only real goal is to go to L.A. and become a porn star. He has severe issues in his life that derive from his upbringing. Tobby’s mother killed herself by pulling her car in the garage and leaving it run. He clearly hates his step father who molested him as a young boy. Bree posed as a prudish Christian missionary to keep her identity a secret when she picked Toby up from jail. She decides to take the boy home to his stepfather, which is on the way to California where she is scheduled for her sex change.
When the topic of conversation was about Bree’s parents she would quickly reply that they were dead. Her mother was an interfering, judgmental and flat out rude person. Her father was more the laid back “I don’t understand it but I love you anyways” kind of guy. You can tell from how Bree’s mother treats Tobby that all she really wants is a son or something to take care of. In the end of the movie it seems as if everyone got what they want, but it was bitter sweet. Bree/ Stanley got his/her sex change operation but she felt she was still missing another part of her, her son. Tobby went on to make gay porn in California and found out its not all that it cracked up to be and ends up going back to stay, and maybe start a relationship with his father/mother.