Normal (2003)

An official selection at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival, this HBO Films production adapted by Jane Anderson from her acclaimed play mixes humour, drama, and tenderness in telling the story of a seemingly "normal" Midwestern factory worker who stuns his family and community by revealing he wants a sex change operation.

Roy Applewood's outrageous news shocks and angers Irma, his wife of 25 years. Despite his insistence that he wants the family to stay together, she kicks him out of the house. Their adolescent daughter, Patty Ann, takes the news more in stride as she is discovering the awkwardness of her own burgeoning sexuality. However, nothing in his career as a rock roadie has prepared the couple's grown son, Wayne, for dealing with his father's decision.

As Roy begins exploring the accoutrements of being a woman (from perfume to breasts)he faces ostracism within the community and ridicule on the job. But, he also finds compassion from unlikely sources, such as his boss, who is beginning to take an interest in Irma. Ultimately, the family struggles to understand Roy's decision and he and Irma discover that love can transcend both the genders we're born with and the ones we choose.