This film stands out for its unique approach regarding relationships as not only does it deal with the whole gay/transsexual issue, but it also includes the startling, but intriguing fact that the two potential lovers used to be same sex friends in high school. While that sounds like a high concept pitch a Hollywood exec would make when describing the latest gender bender comedy, this film takes a rather dry and serious approach in telling the story. That's actually a shame, because it could have used more humor to make it not only more fun to watch, but also more accessible to audiences by creating a more human story. I'm not suggesting that the movie should have been a screwball, broad-based comedy, but c'mon, there's a great deal of comic potential hidden in the plot's sub text. While the two lead characters behave awkwardly toward their situation and each other, some funny moments would surely arise from their "predicament." Such scenes would have softened the film and would have taken it past its "high concept" plot. As it is, we're kept at a distance and forced to become voyeurs. Instead of feeling for the main characters (which again would make them accessible to the audience), we become like the other characters in the film and simply gawk and watch in fascination as the events unfold.
It is interesting that director Richard Spence chose an actor (MacKintosh) whose appearance as a woman still has obvious masculine features. While that does allow for other characters to immediately see that he/she wasn't born a woman and causes them to display their prejudices that then fuel the plot, imagine if Kim were stunning and Paul didn't recognize his old friend. Of course that sounds even more high concept, and yes, we're guilty of wanting to rewrite the story into something the film makers obviously didn't want to tell. I suppose I'm just reiterating that beyond the initial shock aspect, the story doesn't live up to the expectations that are built up from the intriguing premise. Adding humor wouldn't necessarily have dramatically changed the story, but it would have added some spark -- and believability -- both of which are solely missing in this production.
The performances are decent and believable and MacKintosh does make us feel for his character's plight. His shy, reserved Kim has been brutalized by the world and doesn't want any more trouble. Graves plays a punk rock loving character who has yet to grow up, and he does a good job at creating him, but he certainly isn't a likeable character. One can't tell why these two are attracted to each other beyond whatever they felt for each other in high school, and that's never fully explored. I guess we're supposed to accept that opposites attract and that shy, reserved Kim will teach Paul how to grow up, while he'll teach her how to relax and have fun. Well, we've seen all of that before and the transsexual element puts a slight spin on it, but not enough to make the film any fun to watch. Looking beyond its novelty, "Different For Girls" isn't really that different from other relationship movies, and its certainly not as good as most of them. We give this film a 3 out of 10.
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