This movie may not be for the faint of heart. I'm sure it has offended plenty, and may have even been filmed with the intention of offending some. But this is a movie that I think really _needed_ to be made. The first step to destroying taboos is to bring them out in the open. This film deals with, obviously, trans-sexuality, in a very human way - issues about what it is to be a woman, and whether trans-sexuality is a psychological disorder (as Brie says in the beginning, isn't it odd for a psychological disorder to be cured with plastic surgery?). In the periphery it also deals with prostitution, drug abuse, homosexuality, incest, family acceptance, and honesty.

Transamerica skips ably from comedy to drama, and you'll find yourself laughing riotously at points("The Church of the Potential Father" got an lol from me) and perhaps crying at points. It deals with hard topics in a frank and touching way. I found it very interesting that they chose to portray Brie with a female actress as opposed to a m-to-f or male actress. I'm not sure if it's simply because of Felicity Huffman's fame after Desperate Housewives, or as yet another comment on the nature of sexuality/gender - she's a woman playing a man who is a woman...

As somebody who is very liberal, accepting, and already somewhat knowledgeable about lgbt topics, I found this an extremely moving portrait of what it is to be in a gender/sexuality-gray area in America. But, you really would need to go into this movie with an open mind to fully appreciate it. My sister, for instance, watched the first 10 minutes, commented "That's weird....." and left. Well, her loss.