Courtney at the Movies: Sam (TG FILM) Review

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1309379/

For those of you who have been in a cave and have not heard of this film, it is about a chauvinistic male who after visiting a 'magic' shop one night, wakes up as a girl the next day and ends up starting to develop feelings for 'her' best friend while trying to change back. Plot sound familiar? Of course... this plot has been beaten to death! Whoever came up with the idea for this film and/or wrote the script definitely visited Fictionmania and other TG sites more than a few times. It borrows heavily from a certain long-time TG Land franchise.

A little about the history of this film. It has been a popular subject in TG Land for about four years because of people wondering when it was going to be released. On Metamorphose, there have been several threads about the film and it may hold the record on that site for the most amount of posts on one subject. Here is the original thread: http://metamorphose.org/thread/show.htp?threadid=15376&se0=thread&se1=show

Then another one: http://metamorphose.org/thread/show.htp?threadid=16953&page=-1&se0=thread&se1=show

And current one... with history threads: http://metamorphose.org/thread/show.htp?threadid=20505&page=-1&se0=thread&se1=show

For the past year or so, the film debuted in the indie film festival circuit. It was FINALLY released to the public this week. You can get the film on some of these sites to stream and have to wait about a month for a DVD:

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/sam/id1150736295

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Natalie-Knepp/dp/B01M1K7Q5Q/ref=tmm_aiv_swatch_1?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1475109666&sr=8-1

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Sam?id=grV6X5xIM4U&hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grV6X5xIM4U

Now here's my review:

It's too little, too late. On the surface, it looks like a fun story, however it is one that we have seen and read MANY times and does not really offer anything new. Someone on a message board talking about the film made a very good point. Us Gender Transformation fans get a "real" full-length TG Fiction movie only about once every 5-10 years, so when there is one released, expectations are high. And by TG Fiction movie, I mean a movie that is heavily based on the material that we see in TG Land. Before this movie, it was Victim (2010),  It's a Boy Girl Thing (2006),  Switch (1991),  Cleo/Leo (1989), and Goodbye Charlie (1964).  Of course, we also have serious movies about transgenderism like Transmerica (2005) and other gender themes, but I'm not putting those in this category. The same goes for crossdressing films like To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995).

Part of me wonders who the target audience was for Sam. It labels itself as a Comedy/Fantasy/Romance, but parts of those are very weak. Crossdressing films use to be released often for comedic reasons but I don't think they have been coming out (no pun intended) lately because of changing public tastes and education. So in other words, Sorority Boys (2002) and The Hot Chick (2002) don't count here as well. The idea of a chauvinist male being transformed into a woman has been so overdone, the comedy element is lost. The other jokes in the film seem very weak. It seems like this movie would not appeal to the general comedy/indie movie fans. On a romance level, the film also falls a little flat as it seems forced in the movie. Sam looks at her best-friend for comforting and help, but ends up having feelings for him (yet another cliche). So who is this film suppose to appeal to? Was it made just for the TG Land community?

It is very obvious that this film was shot on a tight budget. The acting isn't the worst I've seen for an indie film, but isn't the most convincing at times either. Many scenes are shot in the same locations and there is NO actual transformation scene via special effects. He just wakes up as a girl. If this film was indeed intended for the transformation community, they should have put some effort into this and spent some movie to make it happen. That's why we are watching the movie in the first place. It also takes a while for any progression in feminization to occur. When there is something transformation related, it is very short. There was plenty of opportunity to show gradual feminization here.

Without spoiling the ending, all I will say is that for those who have watched it; notice anything wrong here? (Look for clues in similar spot). I just disappointed by the entire movie. The anticipation was high due to this being a rumour online for years, but it just didn't live up to any expectations. I enjoyed Victim (2010) and The Skin I Live In (2011) much more, but maybe that's because I'm a horror fan and into the more forced, realistic, and disturbing side of TG Land. Of all the movies I mentioned in this post, The Skin I Live In is my favorite because of the high-quality production, great acting, realistic plot, and horror/suspense elements. That along with Victim are about unwilling guys who are really physically forced.

The Hit Girl (2013) was an Indie/low-budget film as well and I enjoyed that a lot more than Sam. At least it had an original plot and fun scenes.

There is another TG movie coming out "soon" called The Sex Trip: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4357714/

The description states: After a shallow womanizer refuses a mysterious homeless woman's request for a kiss, he wakes up the next morning to discover he's been changed into a woman.

Why do all of these movies have to deal with a womanizer or someone who has done something against a woman? Why can't we get one about a guy who gets feminized by accident or something? Something tells me this may be my next movie review.

Sam: 2/10

-Courtney