I don't usually do this whole review thing, but I just had to share my thoughts after watching this film. My niece, who's 20 and in college, dropped a bomb at Christmas saying she wants to transition. My brother-in-law went off and threatened to disown her. So, in an effort to support my niece and sister, I decided to learn more, which is how I found this documentary on Prime Video. I had a hard time figuring out how to leave a review there, as it only asked me to thumbs up or down it when I exited the film. Obviously, thumbs down.
But I really needed to speak my mind because this film really angered me.
I chose to watch this documentary because it seemed relatable to what my family is going through, or so I thought. At first, I thought it was kinda cute with the stick figures and all and the interviews with the father and stepmom gave me a glimmer of hope for my niece. But then came the mother's interview, and OMG, I was shocked. When she asked if she should call her child he or she, the filmmaker put this awful skipping record sound in there. I kept watching for a few more minutes, but my mind kept replaying that question and sound wondering why it bothered me. It's an honest question. So I went back and watched it again from the start, and when it hit that scene again, my blood boiled! The filmmaker totally insulted and humiliated that poor mother - to the whole wide world!!! For him to not only leave that question in there intentionally, but to HIGHLIGHT it with that sound effect, angered me to no end! I was so mad I couldn't take it anymore and turned it off while cursing him to hell and back.
Maybe it hit me harder because it was a man doing the filming and narrating, and I felt like the mom was specifically targeted while the dad got off without any similar treatment.
Was this dude really trying to make a joke out of a serious situation? I get trying to add some levity and maybe that's why he used cartoon figures, but the fact he didn't treat the dad with the same disrespect left me feeling like he's a misogynist or had some personal issue with that mother. Because why else would he make a deliberate decision to not just leave that question in there and not edit it out, but to specifically draw negative attention to it with that awful sound effect?? Whatever the reason for his decision, it ruined the film for me completely and is why I am leaving a negative review and rating.
