Just Like a Woman

A sympathetic story about a straight transvestite, written as a romantic thriller. This is the film to use to tell the wife or girlfriend what it's all about.

It's a bit uneven and in some places less than credible as a film; and I wish that Gerald (Adrian Pasdar) didn't have such carefully made up eyes and eyebrows when in male mode.

At the start of the film, he has carelessly left his female clothes strewn around at home when his wife is away. She returns unexpectedly and finding all the clothes, she assumes he is being unfaithful, and she throws him out.

He finds digs with Monica (Julie Walters) and very gradually a romantic and eventually intimate relationship develops.

But Monica notices a strange woman leaving the place sometimes, and asks him about her. Gerald confesses that it is his femme self, Geraldine.

Monica insists on seeing Geraldine, so Gerald prepares himself, in front of her.

Monica is unsure how to react to the new person ... whether to cry, or laugh hysterically.

Geraldine says "Don't be afraid ..."

But after a little coaxing, Monica finds that she is just as attracted to Geraldine as she was to Gerald, and they embrace and kiss, and intimacy follows.

One morning at breakfast, Gerald is called to the telephone. Monica's daughter is looking intently at his feet.

Gerald hasn't put his socks on yet, and he has painted toenails.

Now Monica and Geraldine go to the Philbeach Hotel, a London meeting point for the transgendered community. (In the film it looks much more upmarket than ever it was when I was there).

"It's not what I expected"

"Well, what did you expect?"

"Well, I don't really know."

He gets her to guess which of the customers is a genetic female.

One night Geraldine has been to the Philbeach alone, and while driving back she is stopped by the police and illegally assaulted by them.

The weakest part of the film is the "revenge" sequence. Gerald was sacked from his city job, but he exposed his crooked boss in front of Japanese clients, as Geraldine

Monica Jay wrote the book, and based it on true incidents; I met her on one of her return visits to the Philbeach Hotel some years ago. The book is running in reprint at present, with the same title as the film.

HF 1998

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