Felicity as a man in Trans-America?

[Princeton78]

Posted: 2/22/06 at 11:19pm

So, I saw the film the other night.
Felicity-brilliant and Oscar worthy, though I never quite bought her as a man. She was always a woman to me (someone should write a song with that line).

Did anyone else have this opinion?

[LaVieHilary]

Posted: 2/22/06 at 11:59pm

Well only certain types of women can play masculine roles like that and I think she did a good job. Seeing her being glamorous and all with her many roles in other things the whole time I thought that she was a woman.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:04am

That's the point of casting her. Her character IS a woman. She's just a woman who was born with a man's body. It makes perfect sense to cast a woman in the role, particularly at that stage in the transition. NOTHING about that character is a man except the genitalia and what's left of the voice and adjusting to living as a woman.

[touchmeinthemorning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 9:53am

While, as I have said a number of times, I didn't like this performance at all, I LOVE the idea of casting a woman. It makes TOTAL sense. I just found Huffman's performance to be lazy and misguided.

I hope people continue this kind of casting across cultural divides.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 10:01am

HOW is the performance lazy? I am always stunned when you make this comment about her. I couldn't disagree more! So, please HOW?

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 10:11am

I have only seen the ads on TV, but I'm convinced. I remarked to joeyjoe last night that I don't know how she sustained the lower voice, but he reminded me that film is only shot in short spurts, so it's not like she's doing it for two hours straight on stage night after night, which makes sense. I think she is amazing, just in that one minute segment on the commercial, so I can't imagine how good she must be in the film itself.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 10:14am

Definitely the opposite of lazy...

[redhotinnyc2]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 10:16am

yup. you can't be lazy and give a performance like that.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 10:20am

See...I found her performance to be phenominal, I did not find her performance lazy..and again, I found her to be Oscar-worthy.
I just had a hard time buying her as a man.
I loved the progression of her femininity throughout the film, I loved the humanity she brought to the role and i'd love to see her clutching Oscar in a few weeks.

[broadway86]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:08am

She was excellent. Touchme has said MANY times that her performance is lazy, but I don't understand that. While I prefer Witherspoon's performance, I would cheer if Huffman won.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:32am

Princeton, she is NOT playing a man!! Sweetie, PLEASE read up on transexuals. Technically, this thread title is absolutely incorrect and likely offensive to transexuals. She IS a woman.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:46am

Princeton, I don't think they could have done a better job of casting.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:48am

I take it that Princeton has never met any transsexuals before. I've met and known several through the years (male-to-female and female-to-male) and many of the post-op females I've known were even more feminine than Huffman (not a slam at her at all). There was NOTHING masculine whatsoever about many of them at all in the looks, mannerisms and behavior and in some cases, even after speaking with them close up for an extended period of time, you would have absolutely NO IDEA that they had ever been anything but a woman. In every possible way they were biological females (externally at least), so Huffman's performance was dead on -- perhaps even more masculine than it needed to be.

Updated On: 2/23/06 at 11:48 AM

[Princeton78]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:52am

I'm sorry if i'm offending part of the population..
I'll back off now...forget I even said anything.

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 11:55am

Princeton - it's something that many people are only learning about now, or even considering. Don't feel sorry - you had no ill intentions. Just consider it an opportunity to learn - it's a very interesting window onto the make-up of human gender identification.

[Jane2]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:00pm

Princeton-in your first post you asked if anyone else shared your opinion-we're only sharing opinions here-never be sorry about yours.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:05pm

Let me state again...I hope she takes home the Oscar...her performance touched my heart, moved me, and I was thoroughly entertained and affected. I hope she will, and think she will take home Oscar. I just had a little trouble with the believability, I never once forgot that she was a female actress. I've not met a transexual that i'm aware of, however that doesn't change my opinion. I believed her journety from the first moment of the movie on, but never really bought that she had once been a man.

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:09pm

"but never really bought that she had once been a man."

And there-in lies the issue, Princeton. In most respects, she never was one. Having male genetalia really doesn't signify much. I think you're getting hung up on what that means. Look around at some of the men on the planet. There's a wide range of expression out there - and frequently, there's absolutely nothing that reads as stereotypically masculine.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:11pm

I'm aware that she never really was a male. Let me try to restate the statement.
I never really bought that she was once the guy in the picture they showed several times.

[bwaysinger]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 12:17pm

Forget what we "know" about transexuals.
Focus on the film. Focus on the character. They were VERY clearly trying to portray this as a MAN attempting to learn to become a woman.
so it's ABSOLUTELY accurate of Princeton to try to conceive, in this instance, of Felicity being a man attempting to play/become a woman. And it's not in any way some kind of argumentative statement.
They set it up right there in the script.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:04pm

Princeton, you don't need to back off. This is a great opportunity for people to learn. It's great that the film is creating discussion because there is so much ignorance on this issue. I just wanted to point out the "PC" nature of all this so that you CAN learn and others, too.

And, while you may have legitimate arguments about the performance, I don't see how a man would have been better cast--it wouldn't have been right. And, I can't imagine a better performance by another actress.

It would seem the only solution would be to have an actual transexual woman play the role, but I wouldn't want to limit what an actor is capable of.

[Taryn]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 1:13pm

"I remarked to joeyjoe last night that I don't know how she sustained the lower voice, but he reminded me that film is only shot in short spurts, so it's not like she's doing it for two hours straight on stage night after night, which makes sense."

However, I DID read in an article that once she got the voice for the day, she KEPT it until shooting was done. William H. Macy, her husband, stopped calling her while she was on set cause the voice freaked him out so much. She wouldn't drop it all day.

[Princeton78]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:17pm

"Princeton, you don't need to back off. This is a great opportunity for people to learn. It's great that the film is creating discussion because there is so much ignorance on this issue. I just wanted to point out the "PC" nature of all this so that you CAN learn and others, too. "

Please don't tell me what I need to learn or insult my intelligence and experiences by using the word "ignorance."

[DG]

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:22pm

Princeton - I really think Jerby was just making a comment on the general non-awareness about this issue. I don't think it was directed at you specifically.

And besides, his use of the term 'ignorance' only implies a lack of exposure to or education in - which has no bearing on the intelligence involved.

Posted: 2/23/06 at 4:24pm

Did anyone else catch the Soup episode where Joel is putting together their names (aka Bennifer).. I can't exactly remember what it was, but it was hilarious.

Back on topic, I hope she wins.