Going Transamerica

One of the common misapprehensions the general Malaysian public has about gay men are that we're all somehow innately obsessed with turning into women - hence the prevalence of the ever present campy drag queens and the seeming tolerance in Asian societies.

Although that certainly does seem to be the case for some special gay boys - notice how terribly ice queeny some can be when provoked, it doesn't hold true for everyone. A significant number actually find it terrifying to teeter about in precarious four-inch stilettos with feather boas slung rakishly about their shoulders. Perhaps that stereotypical image is an easier one for the general public to swallow rather than the idea that a typically macho John Wayne type could possibly fall for someone of his own gender - ala Brokeback Mountain.

Still, I am sure Bree would have her own points to make for that. Yeah, boys and girls, I've finally taken the time to watch Transamerica ( since I wrongly assumed before this that it would be a God-damned preachy Hallmark infomercial ) and by golly, I am glad I finally did!

Played by the fabulous Felicity Huffman, the perfectly adjusted, exceedingly conservative transsexual Stanley is about to that final step to becoming Bree, the woman he always wanted to be - until he finds out just before his sexual reassignment surgery that he is the parent of a long-lost son, Toby. Playing the role of an uptight Christian missionary to the hilt, Bree bails the brooding Toby from prison. Afraid to tell the rebellious teenager the truth, the mismatched duo embarks on a roadtrip that will challenge and change both their lives. Deadly serious dramatic scenes like the scene where Toby encounters his abusive stepfather are interspersed with the occasional bit of light-hearted whimsy that keeps the movie from turning into the preachy sermon I mentioned above.

Seriously, go drop by your friendly dvd pirates for a peek since the movie seems to have finally reached our shores. Don't hold your breath waiting for it to appear in our regular cinemas though. A movie about a raging transsexual who finds a long lost son who happens to be a gay hustler? Somehow I think our ultraconservative uptight censors would all have a communal apoplexy.


Let me do what I do best...
Certainly the delicious shots of the incredibly hot Kevin Zegers who plays the boy hustler Toby would no doubt have caused some serious brain fritz in some of them.