Doc explores the wild, shady and touching side of the
World's Most Beautiful Transsexual pageant

DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS: A stunning Puerto Rican beauty who has survived life on the streets, Maria now counsels women in crisis as an outspoken social worker and activist. But she’d leave it all behind to become a Las Vegas showgirl.

In "Trantasia" (Smocko Productions/TLA Releasing), male-to-female contestants compete in the "World's Most Beautiful Transsexual Pageant" in Las Vegas. But beauty isn't always on display. Some less-than-pretty drama arises between the girls. And director Jeremy Stanford digs beneath the superficial by profiling the lives of six of the contestants, visiting their homes and frequently accepting families.

One of those contestants is Maria Roman, a Puerto Rico-born, Los Angeles-based transsexual activist.

When she first heard about the pageant and documentary, Roman was working as a trans program manager at for a multicultural HIV prevention program.

I spoke with her, and Stanford, by phone about making the doc, getting clocked on the strip, and who deserved to win.

I understand the documentary was originally pitched as reality series.
Stanford: We were open to options. We initially tried to get some backing and had some interest in the time as a possible reality series. But at its heart it was always a documentary."

Maria, what did you think of the competition once they arrived?
Roman: The women there really meant business. They had been competing for years in pageants and were there to win. I couldn't believe it. I was a novice. To be honest, I was never into the competition. My main goal for participating in the documentary was to promote HIV prevention.

Conflict amongst the contestants arises when the girls hit the Las Vegas strip. And the film morphs into "Transsexuals Gone Wild."
Stanford: They were a little wild. What surprised me was the dissension [it caused] amongst the girls. Certainly that's an issue that exists in the community in general how they want to be seen in public and how they see themselves. It led to an interesting moment when Marie is upset and wants to leave the pageant because that was a bad representation of the community.

As the director, what did you learn about transsexuals?
Stanford: The one preconception I had going to Las Vegas was the stereotypical story of the little girl trapped in the little boy's body. But they all had such different reasons for doing what they do.
For [contestant] Tiara, it was a way to escape the projects, a survival mechanism. As she says, there's always a way out and this was her way out. She had a very rough life and childhood, seeing someone gunned down in her apartment building.

For some girls like her, who are young effeminate gay boys, becoming a female impersonator and transsexual was a way to basically turn a liability into a positive. It was empowering. Whereas she might have always been ridiculed [as a boy], when she appeared as a woman at the club that was a huge asset and she received all this praise. Each had such different stories.

Without giving away who wins the pageant, who deserved to win?
Roman: Me! I'm just kidding. I'm happy the person who won won, but we're all winners. Everybody who took part made history."

UNAFRAID OF AFFECTION: These dudes aren’t gay. They just can’t stop thinking about penises.

SUPERGOOD

When "American Pie" meets "American Graffiti," it's "Superbad" (Sony Pictures, $28.95). And it's supergood for anyone who appreciates raunchy humor served up with wit.

Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) are longtime best friends who are about to graduate from high school. Their frank dialogue is the best thing about "Superbad." They're obsessed with sex. And they say some of the most stupidly outrageous things you've ever heard. The world is their locker room, because they'll have these conversations anywhere.

A lot of things fall into place on this particular Friday. In Home Ec, Seth gets partnered with his crush, Jules (Emma Stone), and she invites him to a party she's having that night while her parents are away. At the same time, Evan gets encouragement from his dream girl who's going to be at the party.

To make things perfect, Fogell (Christopher Mintz-Plasse), who's also out with the in crowd, is getting a fake ID so the guys will be able to purchase beverages for the party.

There's a dark cloud on the horizon: Evan has been accepted at Dartmouth while Seth hasn't, so they'll have to split up at the end of the summer. What's worse, from Seth's point of view, is that Fogell is also going to Dartmouth. So Evan hasn't told him yet.

But now it's party time and time to go booze shopping. Fogell's ID tags him as a 25-year-old Hawaiian with the single name "McLovin." After fate takes some strange twists, Seth and Evan are whisked off to a different party, with a more adult crowd.

No one is as funny drunk as they were sober, so this section of the movie is a little too long. But there are still classic straight-guy moments that border on queer, like when Seth repeatedly gushes over Evan. Or when the future collegians lovingly bond in their sleeping bags.
Steve Warren

Grade: B



This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition December 7, 2007