The real value of this movie demonstrates how important it is to be honest in all of your relationships (family, friends, acquaintances, and committed relationships). The dialog, scripting, and acting--all wonderful, real, and warm. At first, I became clear that this movie does have aspects that are uncomfortable to watch, and so I really didn't want to finish watching the movie. But, my inner wisdom nudged me forward, and I'm so glad that I watched it to the end. The film really has some heartfelt moments, and there is a nice payoff...things do eventually take place in this story that make you feel good inside. On a higher level, this film challenges your beliefs, and how you view the particular 'national culture' that you have known throughout your life. I highly recommend giving this film a look.

I really loved this from the start. It is simple, yet dramatic and funny, and real enough that you can relate to it while still testing suspension of disbelief. A lot of viewers faulted this for being a fantasy, and while I can agree with that in some regards, I appreciated there being a trans oriented film that wasn't all doom and gloom and tragedy. There's no denying that is the reality for many trans people, but trans people experience glory and happiness too, just like we all do, so I am glad that that aspect of the trans experience is covered here as well.

I also liked the scope of the film, and the decision to focus on a girl's experience, not only as a transwoman, but as a human being, battling to become comfortable in one's own skin and make sense of love and sexuality, rather than focusing on society and its related subsequent hardships the protagonist will face due to their gender identity. It is very small and very personal, a quality which I loved.

All the good aside, this film does suffer from some glaringly distressing problems, that actually cause this to lose a star from me. This has a real problem with pacing and character development, with things either being drawn out too long or happening too quickly. Certain beginnings and conclusions to the various relationships here really made no sense, building to a conclusion that simply sweeps what we thought we knew under the rug, quickly tidying up the negative plot points and tying up the many loose ends left in drastic and overly saccharine ways.

I came to love and root for Francesca and Ricky as a couple. While I certainly predicted she would end up with her friend just because of genre tropes, we barely get to know him. I spent most of the film getting attached to and learning about Ricky and Francesca, so for Ricky and Robby to end up together and Francesca go off with her transphobic meathead of a fiancée, really did not resonate or sit well with me. Speaking of him, it is really poor character development, how they simply erased his apparent history of anger and trans/homophobia in favor of giving Francesca her typical "happy" ending. The whole "everyone gets what they want and live forever without a care in the world" ending really left a bad taste in my mouth and really lessened my retrospective enjoyment of the film.

Another problem for me was Michelle Hendley's performance. She is without a doubt very beautiful and talented, and she handles the film's pinnacle of drama and emotion with a remarkable sense of grace. However in the film's lighter scenes, she really struggles with natural delivery and getting into a sense of chemistry with her co-stars. She has so much potential and I hope she continues to learn and grow into the star I know is in her.

Overall, it is a very cute, if a bit clichéd romantic drama with some very great dialogue pertaining to the cis perception of gender and sexuality. I wish we could have got some more realistic character development and a more real, or at the very least not so sickly sweet, ending. The ride there was very fun and enlightening though, and this film has definitely earned it's place as a lighter entry into the ever growing narrative of transgendered people in film.

Conceptually, I really liked Boy Meets Girl. It managed to twist the conventional narrative of a transgender woman coming to terms with her identity, and the challenges that come along with it, on its head and have it so that it is the other characters who are unsure of themselves and are seeking clarity and the conviction to be who they are. Unfortunately, unlike the lead characters, the script never found this clarity and conviction to make good of its concept and finds itself train-tracking cardboard characters through stilted conversations and coming-of-gender conventions leaving the whole film feel to feel just a little bit flat at the end of the line.

It is a shame that we have to talk about casting and how it is commendable that an actual transgender actress was cast in the lead role. Michelle Hendley certainly looks the part as Ricky Jones; she is a beautiful transgender woman playing a beautiful transgender woman on screen. The problem is that, based on this performance, she is just not a very good actress. Her delivery never felt natural, regardless of whether she was trying make a snarky comment at an acquaintance or simply serve a customer some coffee. This is made even more noticeable by the performance of Michael Welch as her non-gay best-friend who manages to convey his conflicting feelings with passion and depth, which made it so disappointing that his character was so under-written.

The issue with the script itself is that all of the characters felt as if they existed to interact with Ricky and didn't have enough screen-time to get to really know them so you could understand the journeys that they were going on. This meant that when it was time for them to do the things they needed to do to make the story go forward it rarely felt like it was their choice. There were still moments of comedy and pathos that made the film enjoyable, and it is all very, very sweet, but there wasn't much to think about beyond the superficial once the credits kicked in.

Overall I would say that your enjoyment of this film will very much depend on how much you buy into the lead character. If you can relate to them and project your own personality and experiences onto them I suspect that you'll be left feeling very happy. If you are looking for a character to make you think about yourself, then this is not the film you are going to meet them.