Commercial Break - Fetlife

Hey Hey, Fetlife's giving away free stuff this year for Christmas! (NSFW) Not a bad deal if you ask me! Personally, I want to win a Corset. :) Check it out though. Yes, pimping them gives me more chances, but what the hell, right?

http://fetlife.com/sit_on_santas_lap

TransAmerica - Realism in Movies?

TransAmerica
2005
Dir: Duncan Tucker
Starring: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers

Synopsis from IMDB: A pre-operative male-to-female transsexual takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she fathered a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.

Welcome to probably one of the most realistic portrayals of transsexualism in popular media today. Surprisingly critically acclaimed, this likely shares the crown of "Most mainstream and publically known films with a transgender theme or character, next to "Boys Don't Cry." This was nominated for two Academy Awards in 2006, for song by Dolly Parton and Best Performance by Felicity Huffman.

Now, with that out of the way, let's get into the meat - First off, it's the story of a Transwoman, just a few weeks away from her scheduled SRS. A transwoman.. played by Felicity Huffman. A genetic woman who is playing a pre-op transsexual. In an interview with her on the DVD, she comments with the director that she had a hard time because she did things "too feminine." A woman playing a "man" transitioning to a woman. I've heard quite a bit of criticism that they didn't have a real transwoman play the role, of course, but then, I only know of a few transwomen actresses in Hollywood.

I have a hard time with this movie - I own it, and I watch it on occasion, and I think it's an important film. However, it's not fun. It's not entertaining to me.
That does not diminish it's significance, however.

Bree (Sabrina Claire Osborne, and no, that's now where I got my name from)is a neurotic character, obsessed with her SRS, and while it definitely seems to be a realistic portrayal, she is by no means representative of transsexuals in general.

During the movie, she loses her hormones, and is shown stealing her mother's HRT pills because she is so obsessive about her hormones. After losing her hormones, there's a comment made that she's scared her breasts are shrinking after only 2 days off hormones. Her inability to cope with certain aspects of life - they make her out to be incredibly helpless and scared - seems to me to be unrealistic. Granted, it could just be that Bree is simply that neurotic and helpless regardeless of her transsexual status, but it seems like they play it up as a gender stereotype.

At heart, the story is about the reconnection of a parent and their child. In a lot of ways, the fact that Bree is transsexual is secondary to that story, although it obviously is the film's "gimmick." It's also a road movie in a crazy station wagon.

Think National Lampoon's Vacation meets Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. (Actually, Priscilla did it better, I think, but that's neither here nor there.)

The acting performances are stellar, and again, while Bree is an imperfect character, is a realistic portrayal of what being transsexual is like - she watches Andrea James' Voice Training DVD, she's woefully underemployed, and concerned with her appearance, passing, and desperate to get her SRS. Kevin Zegers is excellent as Bree's estranged son, a street hustler and sex worker who's been working the streets of NYC, and addicted to drugs.

Naturally, like all transgender/transsexual films, (note my sarcasm here) there is the quintessential and totally cliched stereotypes of being stealth, hiding, and of course, being found out; at one point, having to use the restroom by the side of the road, Bree gives up trying to squat and resorts to standing to pee, when she's found out by her son. There's a scene of a transgender support group in the south, led by quite a few very publically out transfolks that's hilarious to watch - Bree obviously cannot deal with people being out in public.

It's not a fairytale ending, which lends credibility to the film - but it's definitely a realistic and satisfying ending.

In the end, I feel the film's worthwhile to watch. I don't know that it's worth a purchase unless you can find it used or in the bargain bin, but it's worth watching at least once. I don't particularly enjoy this film, and I certainly wouldn't call it entertaining in the way, say, Iron Man is entertaining. There's no explosions, there's lots of dialogue, and very little happens that you could consider "exciting." The humor mostly is of the "nervous chuckle" variety, so I wouldn't even call it a comedy.

That being said, it's a very competent film, and yes, I would argue that it was worthy of it's Oscar nominations. I don't think I'll watch it that frequently, but it definitely should be a required watch, at least once.

Sabrina's Rating: 7.5 out of 10 for being a superbly acted and competent film, albeit not that entertaining or exciting.

Sleepaway Camp - Tranny Horror!

Sleepaway Camp
1983
Dir: Robert Hiltzick
Starring: Felissa Rose, Paul DeAngelo

SPOILER ALERT: This Review Contains Spoilers - If you haven't seen the film, do not read this review unless you choose to do so.

Synopsis from IMDB:
Slightly disturbed and painfully shy Angela Baker is sent away to summer camp with her cousin. Not long after Angela's arrival, things start to go horribly wrong for anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions.

This is probably the first and maybe one of the only Horror films I've ever seen with any sort of Transgender theme to it. Maybe that's a good thing. This is likely to be a longish review compared to some because of the nature of the film. I have a lot of mixed feelings when it comes to this movie, because I'm a student of film, but obviously, at the same time, I have a transgender perspective, which is what this blog and these film reviews are about.

Sleepaway camp came about in 1983, during the height of the 80's Slasher Films period. Bob Clark's Black Christmas and Friday the 13th paved the way and opened the door for slasher films, leading to such Slasher Gems as "My Bloody Valentine," "Slumber Party Massacre," "Sleepaway Camp" and a host of imitators -- Often times all cribbing similar themes or settings of Camps, Holidays, Slumber Parties, or School Functions like Dances.

For being a cheap slasher movie made in the 80's, there's a -lot- of subtext in this film, that you might miss if you don't pay attention.

The opening of the film begins at a lake in 1975. Angela and Peter are brother and sister, out in a boat with their father John. Also nearby on shore is John's gay lover Lenny. The boat overturns, and another boat pulling a water skier runs over the family, killing John and Peter (presumably.) Angela is then sent to live with her crazy aunt Dr. Martha Thomas. However, in reality, Angela died in the boating accident and Peter is sent to live with Dr. Thomas. Dr. Thomas, in her craziness, has decided that since she already has her own biological son, that she doesn't need another, and that it makes more sense to have a son -and- a daughter.

At the end of the movie, after the "big reveal" that Angela has *GASP* A PENIS! You see a flashback scene of "Angela's" arrival at Dr. Thomas' home after the accident with a crazy monologue that explains it all:

Aunt Martha: "You're going to enjoy living with us so much, yes I know you are! As a welcome home present, I bought you such wonderful new clothes. I just hope that Richard doesn't get jealous that I didn't get him anything. Oh, but then, he is such a dear. I'm sure that he wont mind. You see, I've always wanted a little girl. But of course, when my husband left... Oh, well, that's only water under the bridges, I always say. Water under the bridge! But it certainly will be a nice little surprise when Richard comes home to find a little girl in the house. Yes, I've always dreamed of a little girl just like you. I mean, we already have a boy, so another one simply would not do. Oh, no, absolutely not! A little girl would be so much nicer. Don't you think so, Angela? Angela, such a lovely name... Why, I believe it means angel. Why, yes, I'm sure it does. I know you're going to like that name, won't you Peter?"

Okay, so to get into the meat of the movie. Ricky and Angela go to camp. The campers and the counselors are assholes. They treat Angela horribly for being withdrawn and shy, and a good number of the boys also make sexual advances towards her. As this occurs, people who torment Angela begin dying. Although the filmmaker obviously was trying to make the viewers suspect Ricky who is shown to be very protective of Angela at camp, it's still formulaic enough to realize very early on that it is indeed Angela performing the "vengeance kills."

Some folks I know, including transgender folks have stated that this movie does not offend them because it seems empowering to trans folks. "Watch out for the scary tranny! If you treat her bad she'll kill you!" In some ways, I can understand the viewpoint that it might be empowering. But in the end, putting myself in the perspective of when this film was made, what the film was meant to be, the purpose of the main character's final reveal, and so on, actually upsets me quite a bit.

This film was not made to be empowering. It was to cash in on the Slasher craze, and the main character's gender issues were an exploitative gimmick to draw audiences. The final reveal, which is a still shot (reportedly they used a male actor and pasted Felissa Rose's headshot over it) is of Angela standing with a severed head in one hand and a knife in the other, fully nude, genitalia exposed.

This was the "big shock" meant to draw audiences. It was a huge word-of-mouth draw in the vein of "OMG You have to see this!" The film implies that Angela was mentally affected by seeing her father in bed with his male lover, which is another way homosexuality and GLBT topics were exploited in this film. Angela is not a "true" transgendered character in the sense that she realized she was female; it was thrust upon her by her demented aunt, forced to live in that gender role, and quite obviously, the situations in the film revolving around Angela's views of sexuality and gender are obviously a conflict to her. In the first film, every indication is made that she doesn't -want- to be female, that she doesn't -want- to be with males romantically, and she's withdrawn socially likely because of this.

Because of this, I cannot endorse this film. However, as a film critic and film student, the film is made competently enough considering the time and the budget, the acting and effects are what you'd expect out of an 80's slasher film, and it is a good example of what it is: a cheesy 80's slasher film. However, I don't like what I feel are the exploitative LGBT elements used in this film, because in my mind, that's exactly what they are: exploitation used to sell tickets.

That being said, I also have to say that if you're interested in LGBT topics in film and the use of gender, see this film, at least once. Maybe rent it or Netflix it, so you have context to think about/discuss.

Sabrina's Rating: 5/10 for being a competent example of the 80's slasher genre

Dr. Jekyll & Ms. Hyde - Tim Daly, Sean Young

Dr. Jekyll. & Ms. Hyde

1995
Tim Daly
Sean Young
Harvey Fierstein
Lysette Anthony
Jeremey Piven

Film Taglines: A comedy about an experiment that got WAY OUT of control!

Helen Hyde wants the Doctor's body... She just doesn't want him in it at the same time.


This is just one of many in a string of cheesy gender-bending, body swapping comedies to come out in the 80's and 90's. Obviously, it's using the much overused "Dr. Jekyll" plot device to explore the comedic value of gender, as has been done before; There was "Dr. Jekyll & Sister Hyde" as well as "The Adult Version of Jekyll & Hide,(sic)" both of which I have seen and will review in the future. Tim Daly's performance in this is lackluster, Sean Young is her usual obnoxious self, and the most humor in it comes from the supporting cast: Harvey Fierstein having doubts about his sexuality when confronted with Hyde, and Jeremy Piven and Stephen Tobolowsky both trying to seduce Hyde in their respective sleazy or nebbish ways. What may distinguish this from other "transformation" movies in the genre is that unlike most movies that deal with the transormation with a quick cut-away or fade to black, DJ&MH decides to use it's budget for special effects to try to up the ante and showing the transformation head on, as well as using those effects for cheap laughs. Other than that, it's pretty formulaic and predictable, but then, isn't that what's expected from a movie like this? A guilty pleasure, nonetheless. If nothing else, watch it once as a rental for the transformation sequences.

Sabrina's Rating: 6/10 For good special effects and sexually charged humor.

Switch - Jimmy Smits, Ellen Barkin

Okay, to get the ball rolling and actually get some content up here, I'm gonna post a review I made on Netflix.

Switch 1991
Ellen Barkin
Jimmy Smits

Tagline Supplied by IMDB in Lieu of the Spoilerific Synopsis on IMDB:
"Steve and Walter used to have a preference for blondes. Then Steve was murdered... and came back as one. Will being a woman make him a better man?"

Yet another gender-bending comedy of the 80's and 90's, Blake Edwards tries to tackle feminine ideals and fails miserably. Ellen Barkin's performance is great, Jimmy Smits is bland, and the same tired old gender bending jokes and cliches abound; the toilet joke, the genitalia realization, how to propery dress/appear, and the ever present "high heels" gag. The plot drags on, and if you pay attention to the beginning of the movie, you'll have figured out the "gotcha!" by the first 15-30 minutes, despite the fact that the rest of the movie continues to plod on. The high heel gag gets old fast, but Edwards apparently likes to beat the dead horse into a bloody pulp. The rest of the cast is forgettable and unremarkable, as is the plot. The best character may be the Devil himself, who gets far too little screen time, and Blake Edwards may have been trying to channel Frank Capra with the sappy and corny ending that comes off as heavy handed by the end. If you like body swap or gender-bending comedies, watch this for the purism of seeing them all, otherwise, there's much better ways to spend the time.

Sabrina's Rating: 5/10