Friday Movie Review: Becoming Chaz starring Chaz Bono

First, a little exercise: Say these along with me: He, He’s, Him, His… He, He’s Him, His…

Okay, there was a point to that. Our LGBT brothers and sisters in transition to the other sex typically prefer to be addressed with the pronouns of the sex they identify with and not necessarily those associated with their birth gender. Since today’s movie review is about the transition of the daughter of a world famous celebrity to the male gender, I wanted to be sure to use the correct pronouns.

My first post for this blog was about the book Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man by Chaz (formerly Chastity) Bono, offspring to the late Sonny Bono and the previously mentioned world famous celebrity, Cher. Now, I’m just young enough that I only vaguely remember the Sonny and Cher television variety show. Trying to recall the little blond moppet that was their then daughter Chastity as she appeared on the show completely escapes me. You could really say that I have no recollection of Chaz when he was actually Chastity other than the “butch lesbian” shots I’d occasionally see in a magazine or clips on a news or infotainment show over the last couple of years.

Still, his transition was of great interest to me because, as I’ve mentioned before on this blog, someone close to me is thinking about transitioning female to male. That’s why I initially picked up his book, Transition, and that’s why I watched the documentary about his transition when it aired on cable television, on OWN, several months ago.

The documentary, titled Becoming Chaz, was finally released on DVD last week. I’ve been waiting for it, as my prospective male friend did not get to see it when it originally aired and neither did my wife due to her work schedule at the time. All agree, it was definitely worth the wait.

To get things started, here is a “professional” review of this documentary and a brief synopsis as published on Amazon:

Review

“Becoming Chaz is a real-life look inside the home and hearts of two brave and glorious individuals. Told with finesse, compassion and wit… will hit nerves and touch hearts.” –The Hollywood Reporter

To clarify; the 2nd “brave individual” is Chaz’s girlfriend/fiance, Jennifer Elia who lived with Chaz in a lesbian relationship until his transition began and who now lives with him as a man.

Product Description

Chaz Bono was a male trapped in a female shell for as long as he can remember. Growing up as Sonny and Cher’s adorable golden-haired daughter in a body he felt wasn’t his own was a crucible it took years to transcend. Now, as he undertakes gender reassignment, he’s bravely decided to share the process on camera. Becoming Chaz invites us along on Chaz’s remarkable journey of transformation. As hormone shots give way to top surgery, down-to-earth, unflappable Chaz beams with a sense of liberation and goes public with his story to put a face on a misunderstood issue. Meanwhile, his gregarious girlfriend grapples with the realities of suddenly living with a man, and it’s clear sex change isn’t solely a physical transition. Intimate and nakedly honest, the film reveals the humanity and courage it takes for Chaz to ultimately embrace his true self. His moving struggle will reverberate profoundly for anyone to whom authenticity matters.

I learned so much from this film that it’s hard to know where to start because there’s so much to learn and to attempt to understand or to, at least, begin to understand. Most of us who have an interest in this have read the books and/or maybe seen a medical type of show where breast removal/reduction was occurring or something along those lines. This is the first time camera’s have basically been “big brother” inside the home and, often, inside the mind of a person in transition between the sexes. Further, it’s the first film to really take an in depth look at it from the perspectives of the loved ones. This includes a significant amount of material involving Jennifer Elia. Cher is also interviewed.

As an aside, Cher, as mother to Chaz, has the hardest time of anyone depicted using male pronouns when talking about her former daughter, now a son. It’s touching to see her genuine struggle for understanding. She does hold back a bit, but she does not gloss over anything and she does not pretend that the choices made by Chaz do not confuse her. Her emotions though somewhat controlled, do come through.

Yes, we’re talking about a minor celebrity here who’s mother is a major celebrity. Write it off for that reason at your own peril. This one is real and it hits the mark.