The Weinstein Company has announced the May 23rd release of "Transamerica," starring Felicity Huffman.
The Emmy Award winner for TV’s “Desperate Housewives,” Huffman won a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama, and was nominated for an Academy Award for her work in "Transamerica," a film that takes a funny, touching, completely original look at a modern American family.
In one of the most extraordinary roles of her career, Felicity Huffman plays Bree, a transsexual about to take the final step in her transformation from man to woman while at the same time playing new mother to the son she never knew she had.
Prim and proper Bree gets an out-of-the-blue phone call from Toby, her illegitimate 17-year old son just as she is about to take the final step in becoming the woman she always wanted to be. The son (Kevin Zegers), who was raised by her ex-lover, has been arrested and needs Bree to bail him out.
So she leaves L.A. and flies to New York with the plan to deposit her estranged son with his stepfather in Tennessee. But the wheels of fortune take Bree and Toby on a cross-country adventure filled with u-turns, both humorous and emotional, that bring parent and son closer together.
The film also features acclaimed performances by its supporting cast, including Fionnula Flanagan, Graham Greene and Elizabeth Peña.
"Transamerica" marks the directorial debut of writer/director Duncan Tucker, who won an Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The soundtrack features the Academy Award and Golden Globe nominated song “Travelin’ Thru,” sung by Dolly Parton.
Extras on the DVD will include a blooper reel with over four minutes of never-before-seen footage, a feature length audio commentary by the director and two taped conservations between the director and stars, Felicity Huffman and Kevin Zegers. Additional bonus features will include the music video of “Travelin’ Thru” and a featurette on the behind-the-scenes making of that music video.
The film will be presented in widescreen (1.78:1) with audio in English (Dolby) and subtitles available in English and Spanish.
Now, after having just saluted The Weinstein Company a few minutes ago for their smart decision on putting out two distinct covers for the two different versions of "Mrs. Henderson Presents," we're scratching our heads wondering: whose dumb idea was it to put a glamor shot of Felicity Huffman on the cover of "Transamerica?"
It's a great photo and will certainly help to move product. The problem is it's just a wee bit misleading, doncha think?
There she is in the cover photo, looking wily and womanly, every pixel supporting her fans' image of her as a desperate housewife. But she doesn't look like that anywhere in the film! She plays a man about to undergo a sex change operation and as such she's not all that attractive or glamorous (by conventional standards)... in any case, she certainly doesn't look like that.
Now, we like this film. We think it demands to be seen. And we believe there's a certain segment of Felicity Huffman's audience who may not have considered buying or renting a film about a pre-op transsexual... and who will indeed be attracted by the cover which practically screams "Hey, if you like me on 'Desperate Housewives,' I'm sure you won't want to miss my Oscar-nominated performance in this!"
So, in that sense, this is damn good marketing.
But there's also a large number of fans who may feel duped and - for whatever reason - may not wish to view a film on this topic, no matter how critically acclaimed. Yes, a careful perusal of the back cover will tell you what the film is really about, but a lot of people won't bother to read that.
Like it or not, "Felicity Huffman" is now a brand and when the primary image of her on the front cover of her latest product is a glamorous shot, it raises certain expectations about what's inside the box.
We think there should have been a little more mystery and a little less Wisteria with this DVD release of "Transamerica." We would have simply picked up the key art from the film's theatrical release (shown here on the right) which rather brilliantly and quickly gets across some of the film's central themes.
But we're not stupid - we also would have inserted a small photo of Huffman right there on the front cover, so that fans who don't know her name or who lack imagination can see her in all her glamorous glory. A small photo with a snipe, yeah, that's the ticket.
You know, when your film is about a pre-op transsexual, maybe you shouldn't try too hard to appeal to everyone; you may discover that not everybody wants you... and you may alienate your core audience in the process.
This glam cover reminds me of those internet parodies that have cropped up recently, in which they re-cut the trailer for a horror flick like "The Shining" to make it look like a romantic comedy.
But you can't put lipstick on a pig.
No matter how much you try to make "Transamerica" look at first glance like a reckless romp with that chick from that popular Sunday night ABC dramedy, it's still a film about a woman imprisoned within a man's body.
You've got a good film here; sell it on its merits, ferchrissakes. To do anything less is a disservice to the creative artists involved and to the universal themes of acceptance and truth illuminated by the film itself.
Suggested Retail Price on "Transamerica" will be $28.95, but most stores will be selling this for about $20.00.
Pre-order "Transamerica" now and save 31%.
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Update: The street date for this title has been moved up to May 9th.
Update: The street date for this title has been moved back to May 23rd.
Also, mea maxima culpa: we've just learned that the cover art for "Transamerica" will actually feature two images - one of the star as herself and one of her in character as "Bree" - and the cover will use a lenticular process to alternate between them (much like those pictures of Jesus where his eyes follow you as you move around the room).
So, yes, we feel pretty silly about our rant, but how were we to know? You won't find that feature mentioned in any of the advance press materials and we still can't find a picture of the second image anywhere. Nevertheless, we humbly apologize.
(And, oh, if anybody at the Weinstein Company is reading this, your password-protected site for the press is apparently live, but it doesn't work... none of the links are "clickable," including the "contact us" button.)
Update: At long last, we're pleased to be able to share the alternate cover image for "Transamerica."
This is not an alternate cover... it will not be sold alongside the other one in a separate edition. Nor is it the art for the full screen version of the film. (There will be no full screen version of "Transamerica.")
This image will alternate with the first as you walk past the box as it sits on the shelf, or as you rock the box back and forth in your hand. It's an expensive printing process and adds a few pennies to the cost, which is why it's normally reserved for deluxe collector's sets with a much higher retail price point.
But for communicating the unique nature of this particular film, while still exploiting the huge commercial appeal of Felicity Huffman, it was well worth it.
Don't you agree?
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