Oscar Got It Wrong!: Best Actress 2005

The Contenders:

Judi Dench: Mrs. Henderson Presents
Charlize Theron: North Country
Keira Knightley: Pride & Prejudice
Felicity Huffman: Transamerica
Reese Witherspoon: Walk the Line (winner)

Nips and Tucks

Film: Transamerica
Format: DVD from NetFlix on laptop.

A number of years ago, I was a fan of the show Sports Night, which was my introduction to Felicity Huffman. It was a well-written show and completely entertaining, but like a lot of television shows, it’s not one that screams that the actors involved are necessarily ones who will be discussed in contention with Oscars. Don’t get me wrong—I like most of the cast of that show. But Sports Night isn’t the kind of show that prepares someone for Felicity Huffman’s performance in Transamerica. Additionally, knowing that Felicity Huffman is more well-known for the trashy Desperate Housewives only makes the juxtaposition of her television roles with Transamerica that much more surprising.

The title here is something of a pun. The film involves a trip from Los Angeles to New York and back again. It is also about a transgendered woman just at the point of surgery. Sabrina “Bree” Osbourne (Huffman) was born Stanley Schupak and has gone through a number of surgeries, procedures, and hormone procedures in preparation for surgery. A week before that surgery, Bree gets a call for Stanley…from his son. A son she didn’t know she had who is in jail and needs bail money.