The fine actresses drew me to see this movie. And they do act well. As for the story - that's another thing. It seems like some indie films are trying to outdo each other in finding the most bizarre and novel family combination possible. This one has lesbian grandmothers, unwed mother who slept with 2 brothers, and the central focus a girl wanting to transition to a boy. Didn't really get much insight into the mind of a transgender. The little melodrama is more on the contrived side.

Elle Fanning is a strange choice to play the central character. She still acts and looks very feminine with her sweet smile and delicate features. K Stew would have been better in this role. Naomi Watts can act anything well and she kept me watching a rather tiresome and unsympathetic character. Susan Sarandon is fun to watch.

Not really worth watching.

Ray (Elle Fanning) wants to transition to being a boy. He's 16 and needs parental consent. His mother Maggie (Naomi Watts) has to track down his biological father. They live in NYC with Maggie's gay mother Dolly (Susan Sarandon) and her girlfriend Frances. Dolly would rather Ray be a lesbian.

This is tackling an advanced edgy issue. It needs some better writing. The actors are top notch. The story needs to move but it's stuck in molasses. The dream girl probably needs more screen time and played by someone more charismatic. Quite frankly, she needs to be played by somebody like Elle. Ray's flailing attempts at romance is the most compelling story opportunity. There could be love triangles and unrequited love. The bio dad is not that compelling. Despite any weakness in writing, the actors carry the heavy load well especially Elle.

Even though the main point of the entire movie was focused on Ray's mother, who was struggling with getting Ray's dad consent for Ray to finally start his transition into a boy, i think the movie could have been a lot better if we actually had the chance to see the actual transition, or at least part of it. Was I the only one waiting to see her starting on T and completely changing her life??.

The acting and production of the movie wasn't actually bad, I just think there could have been a lot more story than a mother who wants to get some papers singed for a transformation that we never actually get to see. Excuse me if I am missing the whole point of the movie, I KNOW, there's a lot of things behind whole story line, for example, acceptance, family issues, secrets from the past, personal struggles in the characters, I GET IT. But how exciting would it be to actually get to witness Ray's transformation?.

This movie just left me with a lot of question. How will testosterone going to change him? Did he gets the girl at the end? Will he be happy after his transition? Will Ray's mother end up with her former lover? I guess we will never know, because the movie actually ends up when Ray gets the green light to start the treatment. Which is such a cliffhanger, not fair.

Don't judge me, but i actually think this could have carried a lot more history that it had already, and it could have been a lot more exciting in my opinion. I wish i would have liked this book better.