Oscar hopeful fails to impress

The premise of "Transamerica" is Sabrina Osbourne's ("Desperate Housewives" Felicity Huffman) need to tie up the loose ends left over from her life as a man before her sexual re-assignment surgery. Sabrina or "Bree" as she calls herself, thinks she has all her affairs in order until she gets a call from a troubled teen claiming to be the son of Stanley, the man she was in her past. This sets in motion the cross country road trip from which the film derives it's play on words title. \nAs the film follows Osbourne and her son from New York, where she bails him out of jail, to California where she hopes to arrive in time for her surgery, we are given a window into the emotional, and physical elements of her sexual identity and her struggle to adapt to the unexpected possibility of parenthood.\nThe casting of "Transamerica" is well done and the actors succeed in making the film an emotionally believable character exploration. Huffman, who is usually known for portraying a "traditional" housewife and mother, succeeds in this unusual role. It is perhaps a testament to Huffman's range and ability to truly embody her roles that she bears almost no similarity to her TV persona. This is, however, disappointing because the film could have been much more enjoyable if Osbourne had any hint of "Housewive" Lynette's witty playfulness. \nInstead, she is depressed and stuffy, which makes sense for the plot as it is something she must overcome to some degree in order to embrace life, yet it makes much of the film painfully uncomfortable to watch. \nKevin Zegers' (the "Air Bud" movies) performance as her son Toby exudes the raw teenage energy needed to contrast Huffman's character. While Huffman has been "living still" (she is not "out" about her transsexuality and is ultra conservative and feminine in her manor and dress), Toby is a teenage runaway, prostitute and drug user. Zeger's performance is strong and he and Huffman have nice acting chemistry together.\n"Transamerica's" plot is not what I expected, after the limited advertising I viewed before going to see the film. It is not an Oprah book club, feel good type drama about an estranged parent and child who overcome traumas of the past while bonding during a montage. While this is good, in that "Transamerica" is instead a more realistic and layered story, it is also bad in that a happy bonding montage would have given the film a much needed high note. \nMuch of the film's tension is generated by Osbourne's hesitation to reveal to Toby that she is his father. But this simple story line, regarding accepting herself before she can be accepted by others, is complicated and cloudy, much as it would be in real life. My main complaint about "Transamerica" is that while it is well done, it doesn't really say anything new and so it is neither thought provoking nor enjoyable to watch.