November 11, 2005
I just returned from the screening at the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival. I can encapsulate my review in one sentence.
Best TG movie... ever!
Onto the plot. SPOILERS AHEAD
Zerophila refers to a condition where you have an extra chromosome. The "Z" chromosome. There are 100 to 1000 zerophiliacs in the world, but nobody knows, because it goes unreported. The "Z" chromosome is latent until you have sex (climax/orgasm) for the first time. The you become a spontaneous zerophiliac. That means every time you get turned on you start to change into the opposite gender. You revert by removing the source of being turned on (or a tranquilizer). It was clever, the called it a nocturnal remission.
The movie starts out with Luke on a camping trip in the middle of the woods. (It was filmed in and around Eugene, Oregon). His tent is run over by a pick up truck that is dragging a trailer. The pick up truck is driven by Kelly Le Brock. One thing leads to another, and Luke has sex with this stranger.
We next meet Luke's roommate Keenan. The kind of best friend everybody wishes they had. Keenan's girlfriend is Janine. Luke goes to buy a pick-up truck, and end up buying this big diesel truck that is seen on the movie flyer. His explanation is his father (deceased) had one just like it. In short order, the truck develops mechanical problems. Luke tells Keenan about this dream that he's been having lately. His penis is getting smaller. He tells Keenan that the thing is, it isn't a dream. Keenan doesn't believe him. He thinks that Luke just has social anxiety around women. He repeats Luke's symptoms when he is around women he is attracted to. He sweats, feels uncomfortable, finds it hard to breath, etc.
Luke takes his truck to another friend, Max, who runs a garage. Max tries to cheat him. He tells him the job is going to cost him $200-$300, which he doesn't have. But he says he'll go and check if he has some used parts. Max goes into the back, and his sister, Michelle come into the entrance to the garage. Luke knows of Michelle, but she was in New York. Apparently she's come back for awhile. There is an instant attraction. Luke bumbles and stumbles his way into asking her out.
A few days later they go out. They are getting along like gang busters. All of a sudden, Luke really starts feeling uncomfortable and can't breathe. He excuses himself to the bathroom. However, he goes out the back entrance to the restaurant. He opens his shirt, and is now sporting a nice pair of breasts. Luke passes out. He a wakes up hours later, and everybody has left, and the restaurant is closed.
Luke tells Kennan what happened, leaving out the parts about the breasts. Luke tries to chalk it up to a food allergy (mushrooms). Kennan, unbeknownst to Luke communicates through the internet to a doctor about Luke symptoms (as far as he knows). Meanwhile, Luke sees Max, and wants him to tell his sister he's sorry. Max tells Luke to stay away from his sister. They almost get into a fight. Finally Max relents, and tells Luke he'll tell Michelle about the food allergy. Kennan tells Luke that the doctor from the east cost is going to send him some materials about his condition.
In the next seen Luke is working his job as a clerk in a rural 7-11 type of store. An older chick comes in, and tries to seduce Luke. Actually propositions him. He turns her down. Actually, he thinks she is a psycho. Luke tells Keenan this the next day, and they get a laugh about it.
Keenan, Luke, Janine, and Michelle are out at a bar on a double date. The woman who tried to seduce Luke is there. There is a very funny scene where the four are playing pool, and the cue ball jumps off the table and strikes Luke in the balls. He feels no pain. They all look at him strangely. Luke feels down there, and then again excuses himself. He goes into the bathroom, and pulls down his pants to find he now has a vagina. Keenan follows, and he ends up showing Keenan. The strange woman finds them. She tells them her name is Dr. Sydney {whatever}, and she came in response to Keenans e-mail. She says she can help Luke, and gives him a sedative to drink. She arranges to meet them tomorrow to explain what is going on with Luke
They indeed meet the next day, and Sydney tells Keenan and Luke the medical explanation I gave at the beginning. She tells Luke that the only way to stabilize his condition is to completely switch over. The goal is to figure out what he really wants to be, a girl or a boy. She tells him that he can completely switch by having an orgasm/climax. He can do that by masturbating.
Keenan ends up telling Janine. So now three of them know what is going on. Luke's attraction to Michelle is triggering this, and unless he can control it, something bad will happen. Luke decides to undergo the transformation. He does, and he is now a very cute girl. He tries to switch back by reversing the process (through female masturbation), except she can't. She can't get herself off. Janine remarks, "Welcome to MY world." She tries to help Luke by getting a vibrator. Still doesn't work. (*Note: funny scenes here).
Max comes over to Luke and Keenan's place in the middle of all of this. He is seeking Luke's help in developing his hockey skills. (Luke is a good hockey player.) Luke comes to the door (wrapped in a sheet). There is instant attraction by Max with Luke. Janine explains she is Luke cousin -- Luca (good one). Max leaves a message for Luke.
Luke runs back upstairs to his room. He looks out the window at Max (who now has his shirt off). You guessed it. Luca is physically attracted to Max. (Oh my GOD. Can this get anymore confusing? Just wait!). Janine catches Luca gazing longingly at Max. Luca closes the door. Janine tries to help Luca by describing what it feels like to have a man make love to you. Luca imagines it is Max, and masturbates. Luca reverts into Luke again.
The movie develops a little farther. Bottom line, Luke is in love with Michelle, but has the physical hots for Max. Tough situation there. Luke goes to see Dr. Sydney. Dr. Sydney explains to Luke there is a way to fix him. He has to have sex with another Zerophiliac, and at that point he is amnomorhpic. In other words, he'll be locked into one gender, and can only change if he as sex with another zerophiliac. Luke muses, "where do I find another zerophiliac?" Dr. Sydney explains that she is a "Z" herself, and that is why she came so quickly, so she could help him freeze his gender. There is only one way it works though. They both have to be attracted to each other. Luke says that won't be problem. They almost do it, but Luke backs out. They make an appointment to do it tomorrow.
The next day, Luke reverts to Luca. She meets up with Max, and they play a little hockey. They start to make out, passionately. However, she pulls away. She tells Max it can't work. She is leaving to go back home. Max leaves. However, Keenan has been watching the entire thing, and is disgusted. Luca explains she had to know for sure, now she does. Keenan says he's moving out. He's going to get his own place because this is getting too weird for him. It's causing fights between him and Janine. He thinks Janine wants Luca more than him. (told you it gets confusing in a good way.)
Luke shows up at Dr. Sydney's hotel. They drink a little to get in the mood. Luke asks how do we do it. Dr. Sydney explains that she has to tie him down for the first time, because sex between two "Z"s is very passionate, and otherwise he could get hurt.
In the next scene, Luca is tied and gagged to the bed. Dr. Sydney is now a guy. Luke is locked into Luca, unless she can get Dr. Sydney to have sex with her again. Dr. Sydney explains that is why he came so quickly. He was tired of being a woman, and used Luke to become a guy again. Oh well!! Keenan finds Luca and unties her. Keenan explains he broke up with Sydney. They are friends again.
Now the viewers get a real curve ball. It shows Michelle getting into the shower. Great body, by the way. She masturbates and turns into Max. SHE IS A "Z" TOO!!!! This is where the most transformation scenes occur. Very well done with some morphing software. The director explained after the show that the head is special effects at USC film school came into the project and did this. Nothing spectacular that you haven't seen in Siren's Song, but with live action.
Luca's dire situation actually gets Janine and Keenan back together (Yay!! They were good together). The three find and confront Dr. Sydney to force him to have sex with Luca. However, he is making out wit another guy. He explains he's gay. That is why he became female, so he could exercise his sexual preference. He's not like Luke who is hetero when he is in his male body, and hetero when in female body. He got tired of being a female and had to find a way to turn back. He further explains that it will not work because he's not attracted to women. They knock him down anyway, and Luca tries to mount him. Michelle suddenly appears and sees this. She is hurt because she thought that Luca liked Max. Michelle runs off.
Luca gives chase. She tries to explain everything, and why she was doing it. Michelle stuns her by saying she knows who she is... Luke. Michelle still runs off.
Luca tries to make the best of it. She has truck/engine trouble again, and takes it back over to Max's garage. Max tells her that Michelle went back to New York. Luca asks Max to tell Michelle that she loved her, and she only did what she did so she could be with her for good. Max is touched. He fakes a foot injury, and takes his shoe off. He call Luca a moron for not knowing. Knowing what? He shows her a one of a kind tattoo on his foot that Michelle had. Luca now knows. They proceed to have sex over and over again. Switching genders as they go. I thought that was REALLY hot, and one of my fantasies. In fact I've never seen a story quite like that. The next morning it is Luke and Michelle in bed together. She says she has to go to work. He says, okay, I'm just going to stay in bed all day. Yeah, but she can't go in THIS body. They start making love again.
A new type of relationship is born. Each taking turns at being the man and the woman.
Folks. Awesome movie. Before this, "Dating the Enemy" was the most realistic/human TG movie. This blows it away. This is a must see. I only hope my review has done it justice. I can't capture the emotion, pathos, and character development, which really makes a movie breathe. The whole theme is coming to grips with sexual orientation. The thing which fuels the whole problem is that Luke had an underlying attraction to Max that he didn't even know was there. As Dr. Sydney explains before the betrayal, she can fix the problem, but only after Luke comes to terms with the painful truth.
There it is: Siskel & Ebert like I promised.
