In their last months of high school, two cisgender boys pretend to be transgender to get into the girls’ changing room. The concept sounds like a dangerous right-wing rhetoric, but She’s the He is a sweet coming-of-age comedy made by a predominantly trans and nonbinary cast and crew.
Alex (Nico Carney) and Ethan (Nico Carney) start the film as two heterosexual, cisgender teenagers who spend so much time together that rumors are circulating that they are in a gay relationship. Alex, a boy of many meathead ideas, decides to squash these rumors by encouraging him and Ethan to pretend to be trans women so they can gain access to the women’s locker room and avoid being called gay by the jocks. The writing asks you not to think too much about the plan and chalks its plot holes down to teenage boy logic.
She’s the He Uses An Uncomfortable Plot To Explore Coming Out
Ethan discovers that they enjoy their new trans persona and that they themselves may actually be transgender. There is probably a better way to achieve this plot than through pretending to be trans to enter a girls’ locker room. The premise is uncomfortable and feels like it’s pulled out of a Fox News headline. If it wasn’t for the fact that the cast and crew are LGBTQ+, this could have been a very different film.
The film lives in a sweet world where even the worst high school bullies won’t resort to transphobia. It’s a fantasy alternative universe where gender dysphoria is totally understood and treated appropriately. It’s a high school utopia of acceptance and understanding. Is it realistic, no? Is it a breath of fresh air, yes? We live in such a cruel society, that a little unrealism about inclusivity doesn’t go amiss.
Popular high schooler and Alex’s long-term crush, Sasha (Malia Pyles), is immediately supportive of their transition, welcoming them into the group as soon as the two boys put on a bra and some lipstick. Sarcastic non-binary student Forest (Tatiana Rigsby) is also incredibly forthcoming on their own journey. Even high school bully and letterman-clad jock Jacob (Emmet Preciado) thinks transphobia is a step too far.
A Better Drama Than A Comedy
The comedy doesn’t always work in She’s the He. The characters are a little one-note, especially Alex, whose sexed-up parody of straight, cisgender high schooler wears thin after the first hour. Some of the high school comedy elements feel straight like they are ripped from an 80s movie with high school parties, cliché jocks, and dressing-up montages. It’s never clear if this is a purposeful choice and She’s a He is sending up the genre or if the writing is just dated.
She’s the He is at its best in more heartfelt moments. Ethan’s journey of self-discovery is charming, emotional, and very real. Her attempt at coming out to their mother, Mary (Suzanne Cryer), is a real moment of honesty. Especially, when it triggers Mary’s own insecurities about being an aging woman and single mother. While the film puts Ethan and Alex’s friendship at the centre, it’s really all about Ethan’s relationship with her mother. Some of the film’s best scenes are when the two try to bond despite almost being strangers to each other. It’s a realistic depiction of a mother who is not unsupportive, just uneducated on the topic.
In another emotional moment, Ethan explains how she can’t imagine seeing herself growing old in her male body. Ethan’s journey of discovering their identity is complex and skirts the oversimplified tropes media often paints coming out as trans as. This is such an important film to show to someone questioning their gender, as it says out loud so many of the feelings internalized by the community.
There is significant whiplash between the more heartfelt moments and the high school comedy, and the film doesn’t always know how to balance the two tones. At times, you want to see the more human moments unfold more, but the script can’t help but drop a dumb joke or inappropriate gag. This is especially true of the final act, which descends into chaos. There is just too much going on that you don’t know where to look or what to laugh at.
She’s the He Is A Film The Trans Community Needs
She’s the He predominantly works because the film stars trans and non-binary actors playing amped cisgender characters. It adds a playful layer to a sometimes-flawed teen comedy and subverts Hollywood’s trend for cisgender people being praised for playing trans characters. It’s especially cathartic to see even the high school jocks played by trans men (Preciado, for example, is a trans man).
The community needs a film as upbeat as She’s the He. It never shies away from the trauma of realizing you are born in the wrong body, but it never gets caught up in the negatives of it. Finding yourself should be a joyful experience, and this film creates a supportive and understanding utopia that the community yearns for.
The comparison with Emma Seligman’s Bottoms feels inevitable. Both are unapologetically queer comedies that mix a sweet story about teenage friends with bombastic teenage comedy. It turns out you can make a film about queer joy that is silly but also touching and has a message. Perhaps it gets too silly and gross out, but its heart should be admired.
First-time director Siobhan McCarthy takes a dated gender-swap comedy and turns it into a very necessary coming of age story about gender identity. While people will come to She’s the He for the high school comedy, they will find themselves moved by the human story of two teenagers trying to find themselves.
She’s the He recently played at the London Film Festival.
Learn more about the film at the IMDB site for the title.
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