LLGFF: Becoming Chaz

BECOMING CHAZ

Directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, 2011

The second film which I've seen as part of the young reporter programme at the BFI's Lesbian and Gay Film Festival, Becoming Chaz, documents the process of female to male gender reassignment in Chastity/Chaz Bono (the child of Sonny and Cher). 

Though the documentary frames Chaz's personal journey in terms of his vicarious fame, as a member of a self-declared 'public family', the negotiation of the extra challenges this poses - particularly hateful paparazzi, and mommie dearest appearing on Letterman - is little more than an extra hook to draw in audiences, with the focus falling almost entirely on Chaz. As such, it's personal elements of his life during the year the film covers which are given most weight - his relationship with his airheaded/insane partner or the operation to remove his breast tissue. 

Occasional talking-head interjections with the immobile drag queen Barbie otherwise known as Cher are used somewhat cruelly to highlight her perhaps surprisingly conservative viewpoint on her daughter's transition (given her 'iconic' status within the gay community you can't help thinking she might want to brush up on her PR). Though she doesn't exactly help herself, coming across as fairly ignorant about the whole process, the lack of impartiality on the part of the directors is representative of their approach in general. There's something didactic to the whole film, which essentially amounts to transgender propaganda - which is fine, but there's a lack of engagement with other sides of the coin, so at times the film feels like it's preaching to the converted, to the extent that i wonder how well it will play outside of festivals such as this. (Despite its faults, it would be inforttunate if it only attracts attention as a some kind of celebrity expose-curio.)

To an extent the film's saving grace is Chaz himself. In terms of presentation, the film is everything you'd expect from a glossy televisual year-in-the-life (and would almost certainly play better on the small screen): black and white interiew footage and frequent rummages through the family photo albums are all present and correct. There is in fact a sense of the film's format being rather rote, although a last minute, post-credits reunion between Chaz and his mother (who, ironically, looks more like a man of the two) is a brief and fairly uncomfortable affair, rather than a final tearjerking moment. Chaz himself is almost ridiculously normal - somewhat browbeaten by his lesbian partner, then increasingly irritable as the testosterone kicks in - but though this might not be especially cinematic, his ordinariness (all the more impressive not only given his trans status, superstar parents, and childhood lived on camera) humanises a situation that perhaps still doesn't have a great deal of visibility.

Ultimately, maybe because documentary's generally not my bag anyway, Becoming Chaz disappoints - there's a undeniable sense of judicious editing which removes much trust in the filmmakers and damages the ability to engage with the subject, perfectly likeable though he is in himself. I'd certainly also prefer to have seen slightly more engagement with the issues surrounding gender reassignment (eg, the psychological, societal and medical repercussions). The film is little more than a soufflé, and while perhaps that's laudable in relation to a somewhat overlooked minority (and unsurprising for a feature that's been picked up for Oprah's documentary channel), I can't help but wish it had been tackled by someone with a more tangible opinion or angle on the subject. Maybe if Herzog could be persuaded to shift his focus from the natural world...?