270. SHE'S THE HE (2026) dir. Siobhan McCarthy

In SHE'S THE HE, high school best friends Ethan (Misha Osherovich) and Alex (Nico Carney) devise a foolproof plan. With two weeks left till graduation, only two weeks for Alex to finally drum up the nerve to chat up his crush Sasha (Malia Pyles) and forever shake off the widely believed rumor that he and Ethan are gay for each other...the dudes are gonna pose as trans women, get inside the locker room and allow Alex the one-on-one time he needs to woo the girl.Fuckin' foolproof.But something unexpected develops. It turns out when Ethan puts on the dress and makeup, something clicks into place. It turns out...she actually may BE trans.Writer-director Siobhan McCarthy uses the great 90s-00s teen comedies - CLUELESS, MEAN GIRLS, SHE'S ALL THAT - as the blueprint by which to farcically combat the conversative playbook opposing gender-neutral bathrooms and the idea of trans folx using whatever shitter feels appropriate to them. As the trailer proudly exclaims, we've got trans people playing trans characters and trans people playing cis characters. Even if you're to take the plot and characters at face value, guys trying to sneak into the girls' locker room, the meta of it all, the casting itself combats the idea of genitalia being the be-all-end-all of gender identity and expression. However, despite the silliness and playful attitudes towards high school drama, I find SHE'S THE HE to work best when it follows Ethan's transition, her reckoning with herself, friends and family the feelings and developments that allow her the opportunity to exist with purpose, with clarity. When it comes to sharing the trans experience, SHE'S THE HE does so with gentleness and patience. It's something that doesn't seem to come naturally in a movie that features a bubblegum-colored Corvette cheekily dubbed Dickgobbler but y'know...it just simply works.---Check out SHE'S THE HE showtimes hereFollow The Movies on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ & ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Letterboxd⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Throw a couple dollars in the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠tip jar!