Duncan Tucker shoots and scores with his full length feature film debut Transamerica, the title referring both to transgender issues and the fact that this is a road film that crosses the heart of America. In my opinion Felicity Huffman's tour de force portrayal of a pre-op transgender female will earn a second Oscar for the household she shares with husband William H Macy. I'd bet my academy "member" on it. Which isn't to say that this film doesn't have other Oscar worthy attributes.

Huffman plays Bree, formerly Stanley Osbourne, a conservative working class LA woman who is about to finalize her gender change surgically (snip). It is about this time that she receives a phone call from New York with the perplexing news that she had some 17 years prior sired a son. Not only is "Toby" her professed progeny interested in meeting his father, but it just so happens that he is in jail on charges of homosexual prostitution and could use a little parental assistance in the bail department. Bree is reluctant and the timing isn't exactly ideal, but her therapist (Elizabeth Pena) insists that it would be of utmost importance for Bree to address this bit of baggage from her days of penis past, before she parts with it forever. Thus the would-be woman sets out on a road trip to meet the alleged fruit of her loins.

Upon arriving in New York we find comedic twists abound as Bree conceals her true identity by approaching the situation under the premise that she is a missionary out to rescue Toby (Kevin Zegers) from his life of wanton whoredom. Actually a simple case of mistaken identity that Bree sees no reason to clarify. And, as no one in the correctional facility makes the assumption that she is in fact the boy's father, she doesn't bother to volunteer this information either.

As it turns out Toby is interested in going out to LA in hopes of finding work in the film industry, and since that's were Bree is headed anyway, the road trip is underway A circumstance that, of course, affords them the opportunity to get to know each other, take each other in confidence and develop a bond. Along the way we meet a hitchhiker who is out to get them, a native American named Calvin Manygoats (Graham Greene) who has the hots for Bree and Bree's parents. Her parents live in a world of denial and end up wanting to adopt Toby. Bree's father is none other than Burt Young from the Rocky films! Never during the trip does Bree reveal her true identity, but a most fascinating relationship develops between the two and how it all ends you'll have to pay to find out.

This film is both smart and funny and never indulges in any of the tired conventions of gay film stereotypes. And Bree's motivation for her desire to change genders is also refreshingly free of film cliché. I found newcomer Kevin Zegers to be competent in portraying the conflicted Toby and the rest of the supporting cast shines as well. The film's humor is not only frank and unforced, but plays well against the pathos and heartbreak. Not since Sideways have I been so impressed with a films breezy way of juxtaposing drama and comedy. There was also a hopeful sensibility to the directors portrayal of America as seen through the passenger window. (Although I felt the indictment of middle America as a hotbed of bigotry was a bit heavy-handed) I also very much enjoyed the music and I'll be rooting for Dolly Parton's terrific song come Oscar night. Transamerica is just one of those offbeat American gems, that will be treasured for years to come.