Boy Meets Girl (2015), directed and written by Eric Shaeffer,
follows the story of Ricky (Michelle Hendley), a male-to-female (MTF)
transgender character from rural Kentucky who transitioned to living as a girl
at a very young age. Because of her
early transition, she comes across as a very confident individual who is
comfortable in her skin. Ricky has grown
up in a very small town where “everybody knows everybody” so Ricky’s transition
from a boy to a girl as a young child is public knowledge. Ricky has never really had to “come out” as
her transgender identity is already well known and seemingly accepted. Ricky lives with her father and younger
brother and spends the majority of her days with her childhood best friend
Robby (Michael Welch). In several
flashback scenes of Ricky’s childhood we see Robby’s constant and unwavering
support of Ricky that seemingly smooths over Ricky’s newfound female identity
with many of their peers. This support
and acceptance amongst her family and friends has made all the difference as
Ricky has been able to transition into a very outgoing individual with a
positive outlook.
This confidence is tested when Ricky meets someone new,
Francesca (Alexandra Turshen).
Francesca’s father is a successful conservative politician and while
from the same town as Ricky, the pair never met because Francesca spent most of
her days away at a boarding school.
However, Francesca is back in town planning her wedding to her fiancé
who is overseas serving in the military.
When Ricky and Francesca spark up a friendship in the local coffeeshop,
Ricky quickly takes a liking to Francesca as she has never really been close to
any women in her life. We later learn
that Ricky’s mother left her family shortly after Ricky’s transition to a girl
and thus, Ricky has always blamed herself for her mother not being around. Losing her only female role model at such a
pivotal time in her life leads Ricky to become attached to Francesca quite
quickly. Francesca seems equally
intrigued by Ricky as Ricky is quick to disclose her transgender identity and
is not at all shy about it.
The pair’s relationship quickly becomes sexual as
Francesca and Ricky both want to explore other sides to their sexualities and
feel safe doing so with each other.
However, this upsets Ricky’s best friend, Robby, as he seems to be
jealous of Francesca and Ricky’s relationship with each other. The film turns into a love triangle of sorts
with Ricky caught between Francesca and Robby, as Robby comes to realize he has
had feelings for Ricky all along. The
film ends as Francesca and Ricky decide they are better off as just friends and
Robby decides to tell Ricky how he really feels about her.
Robby runs around town one evening looking for Ricky, so
that he can profess his love for her. He
finds Ricky skinny dipping in the local watering hole and approaches her to
tell her how he feels about her. She
listens to what he has to say and then asks if he is sure about what he is
saying. She then slowly walks out of the
water, each step revealing a bit more of her unclothed body. Once fully out of the water, she approaches
Robby and the striking contrast of her female top half and male bottom half are
on full display. She is laying it all on
the line, confident and vulnerable at the same time, as she asks Robby again if
he is sure about what he is saying. It
is evident that seeing Ricky this way has made Robby love her even more, as for
him it is not about who she is on the outside, but who she is on the inside.
This bouncing around from one love interest to the next
lends a little bit of chaos to the film that is somewhat convoluted. It also feels a little bit unrealistic at
times as the topic of Ricky’s gender identity and the sexuality of all of the
characters seems to be in constant play due to the varying and unique dynamics
between Ricky and her different love interests.
Despite the rockiness and the somewhat unrealistic love triangle, Ricky’s
character alone is the glue that holds this story together.
Ricky is intelligent, creative, beautiful, but also
vulnerable. She is a perfect example of
what can happen when you are loved and supported for who you are, without
judgement. Her positive relationships
with her family, her friends, and other people in her town has allowed her to
express herself comfortably and confidently.
She is aware of the fact that she is “different,” but she doesn’t let
that stop her from achieving her dreams.
Ricky’s unwavering strength and determination to be herself makes the
world a better place and her confidence and positivity quickly rubs off on
those around her.
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