Movie: Tangerine
My Rating: 4 stars
I was so charmed by this movie. I don’t know what I was expecting. Maybe a depressing art-house flick about the hard life on the streets for transsexual prostitutes. Something really angry and brooding. What I wasn’t expecting was something as adorable and heartwarming as this. Don’t get me wrong. This is still a movie about the hard life on the streets for transsexual prostitutes in Los Angeles. But, it’s so sweet. The ugliness is still there, but the story is about people who can overcome those difficulties, and find something to hope for. We still see our girls turning tricks in cars and trying to scrape together enough cash to pay rent and keep themselves fed. But, we also get a glimpse into the little concerns in their lives. We get to know them as people.
We get to see our protagonists fussing over their hair and outfits, and discussing how their new hormone therapy is going. We get to learn about the relationships they have with boyfriends, and some of their nicer, regular clients. It’s a life that’s completely foreign from my own experience. But the film presents these characters in a way that makes us instantly identify with their daily concerns. But, really this is a movie about friendship. It’s a story about the friendship between Alexandra and Sin-Dee—a pair of best friends who are working on the streets, but who have greater aspirations. Alexandra wants to be a singer. She spends the film blanketing the town with flyers for her performance that night. And, Sin-Dee wants to settle down with a nice husband. She’s in a relationship with Chester, a local pimp (not hers), but she spends most of the film trying to track him down based on a rumor she heard about him hooking up with another girl while she was in jail for the month. It’s the central mystery of the film, and it takes our girls on a chase all over North Hollywood trying to track him down to get some answers. But, things aren’t always what they seem.
This movie is so cute. I really recommend it—especially to people who think that it sounds like self-righteous, political, snooze-fest. Because, it really is very heartwarming and life-affirming. You’ll fall in love with these girls, and want to hug each of them at so many different points during the story. I’ve found myself still talking about it months after having watched it. And, that always means that I’ve seen something worthwhile. So, I think you’ll probably enjoy it too, as long as you’re in the mood for a low-budget, indie, optimistic, relationship drama. I admit that I’m not always in the mood for something like that. But, if the mood ever strikes you, don’t hesitate to choose this movie.