Lindsay Slocum
Asst. Diversions Editor

Film interpretations of human sexuality seem to have permeated American theaters this year. "Brokeback Mountain," "RENT," and "Capote" all portrayed taboo sexuality, and all won rave reviews.

"TransAmerica," however, goes underneath the surface issues of sexuality, exploring the meaning of family, the struggles of drug addiction, and the journey a transsexual woman takes within herself to discover her inner strength.

Photo courtesy of allmoviephotos.com Bree (Felicity Huffman) and Toby (Kevin Zegers) in ‘TransAmerica’

The plot of "TransAmerica" seems cliché: a pre-operative male-to-female transsexual must travel to New York after she discovers that she has a son, who happens to be in juvenile detention.

They embark on a road trip across America back to Los Angeles, where Ms. Bree Osbourne (Felicity Huffman, of "Desperate Housewives" fame) will shortly be going under the knife. It is the gifted acting and character depth that set this film apart.

Huffman brings Osbourne to life with heartbreaking realism. While playing a woman may be simple enough for Wesley Snipes in "To Wong Fu, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar," acting is a bit more challenging for a beautiful woman to play a man who is becoming a woman.

Huffman lowers her voice, tucks the imagined "it" in between her legs, and pulls off the complex character beautifully. While the majority of the audience might feel unsure about being able to relate, Osbourne’s insecurities, strange family, and rebellious son are issues prevalent in mainstream American life.

Kevin Zegers’ portrayal as Osbourne’s son, Toby, brings the story to life, while also adding an unsuspected edge and tragic twist.

Some audiences might have trouble seeing the "Air Bud" boy orally service rednecks at truck stops and do lines of coke off bathroom sinks, but Zegers brings a youthful innocence to the taboo lives of transsexuals, prostitutes, and drug addicts.

Toby wavers between dreams as a porn star and a zoologist, bringing the film a beautiful mixture of sexuality and childhood naïveté that is often lost in films attempting to portray teenage sexuality.

While the film is above all a tale of human transition and relationships, it leaves the audience with a feeling good and even smiling, never losing Osbourne’s sense of humor about herself or failing to poke fun at America’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" attitude about sexual minorities.