By Melissa Antoinette Garza
I love the made-for-TV movies of the 70s and 80s. Before there were 100 channels, the major networks invested quite a lot of dough into putting out quality projects.
One such movie was the 1986, biographical film based on the transgender professional tennis player Renée Richards. The movie begins when Richards (Vanessa Redgrave) living openly as a man. She’s a successful eye surgeon who is engaged to Gwen (Alice Krige). Everyone is putting pressure on Richards to marry Gwen, but she holds out, still trying desperately to repress the necessity of feeling herself in her own skin.
At night, Richards puts female clothes on that she feels most comfortable wearing. She puts on a wig, a corset, nylons and a conservative assemble. She goes to malt shops and hangs out alone where no one can recognize her. It’s clear that the societal pressure to conform forces her into feeling guilty.
Richards tries to confide in her mother, Sadie (Louise Fletcher), who is a psychiatrist. Rather than provide love and understanding, she immediately becomes distant and makes it about her. Richards tries to connect and explain how the first time she went out in public dressed as a girl was at a Halloween party that Sadie brought her to. Sadie unconvincingly claims not to recall the event, but Richards doesn’t let that detour her. She explains to her mom that she continued and continues to sneak out of the house in feminine attire. She clearly states that dressing like a woman is a MUST. She says point-blank that a woman lives inside of her and she’s desperate to get out. While watching, I just waned Sadie to tell Richards that she would support and love her during the journey of self-discovery.
Sadie of course chooses a different approach and does the opposite of what she should do. She tells Richards that it is probably because of the kind of mother she was, she makes an appointment for Richards to see a different psychiatrist and then excuses herself to make more tea. In other words, she’s not winning Mother of the Year.
Her new psychiatrist, Dr. Beck (Martin Balsam) is no better as he promises to get Richards “over it.” Beck tells her that she has a compulsion disorder. When she admits that despite the doctor’s demands, she still cross-dresses, Beck screams at her.
Later, Gwen finds a dress in Renee’s closet. She immediately admits to everything and Gwen tries to be supportive. She’s completely misguided in her attempt, but her intentions are good. Of those closest to her during the days she lived as a man, Gwen seems the most compassionate. Sadly, their relationship is doomed.
Richards has to deal with a ton of ridiculous bullshit. One of the worst and someone who needed the world’s biggest ass kicking was Josh (William Russ). Richards shows up at Josh’s house wearing a black dress. She’s is rocking it and looks like a sexy David Bowie impersonator. Josh, on the other hand, is a dickhead who brings in two of his friends. He tries to get them to insult Richards with him. He says the worst and most awful things. The friends just leave. They should have beat the shit out of Josh and invited Richards to go with them, but alas in the end, Richards leaves alone.
For awhile, Richards conforms fighting against her natural instinct to be herself. She, instead, heeds Beck’s advice to grow a beard and is drafted into the navy.
Soon, she decides that the charade is over and sends Beck packing which finally gives the audience a reason to openly cheer!
Richards finds Dr. Harry Benjamin (Jeff Corey),who delivers the most significant line in the film. He says, “when the spirit refuses to fit the body, why not make the body fit the spirit?” The words spoken effect Richards so much that she becomes emotional. Finally, there’s a doctor we can root for in this film (at least temporarily).
The hormones are working marvelously and for the first time in the film, we see how happy Renée can be. Even though she was discharged from her duties at the navy and the treatments are costly, she is genuinely and finally living the life she wanted.
Sadly, Benjamin is pressured to end Richards treatment because of how famous a surgeon she is. She refuses to fold and sets sail abroad to continue her journey. Before leaving, Renée sees Josh once more. Again, he’s a complete douchebag, but a bit less so than the last trip.
At a restaurant, a man asks Renée to dance and the two are having fun on the dance floor when some scumbag attacks her for being transgender. Still, Renée perseveres because she is a badass chick that will not stay down. I love her!
Nearly ready to have her gender reassignment surgery, all the shit she’s been put thru goes though her mind and she cancels the appointment in a panic. For a bit, she tries to live like a man once again. She stops the hormones. One night, she meets Josh in a bar and Josh doesn’t hide the fact that he’s thrilled Renée has walked away from the idea of being transgender.
That night, Renée meets love interest Meriam (Kerrie Keane). It’s not by mistake, but rather Josh sets the whole thing up. They get married, but it collapses as Renée is still not allowed to be herself.
Once out of the marriage, Renée does obtain her gender reassignment surgery and officially changes her name from Richard Radley to Renée Richards. Things are finally right in the world! Even Josh seems to come around. It took him long enough!
She soon meets Bill (Alan Feinstein) and the two begin dating. During a friendly game of tennis between the two, Renée is invited to join a tennis tournament from an onlooker. She does it only to have a TV hack reporter out her. She begs the reporter not to go public, but the journalist is a heartless bitch. So, rather than be able to enjoy her success and happiness that she just spent her entire life fighting for, she now has to face another fucking battle!
Bill isn’t an asshole about the whole thing, but is disappointed she didn’t confide the truth. Maybe if Bill had lived Renée’s life, he’d understand why she kept quiet. That said, Bill is not a dick. He stands up for her in front of reporters and wishes her luck. Those two crazy kids should have ended up together!
She takes on the United States Tennis Association and fights for her right to compete in professional tennis without chromosome testing.
Who would have thought CBS would be cool enough to run this in 1986? This ran after MURDER SHE WROTE (1984), a show that had a huge audience! Good on them for trying to give America a wake-up call about trans rights over 30 years ago. The carryover audience must have been huge and I’m sure a good number of them walked away from this film with a lot more compassion and understanding for the transgender community than they had before watching.
This is one of the best TV movies of all time! It’s heavy and it can be triggering so be forewarned. That said, the life of Renée Richards is one that needed to be told and celebrated. Her courage and rise against adversity is inspiring.
Vanessa Redgrave was sensational in this role. She pulled me in from moment one and I was with her until the end. She expertly conveyed the humanity and love of Renée, even when she was getting the exact opposite from everyone else.
This movie is a must-see! Currently the full film is on YOUTUBE. I don’t see it available elsewhere so watch it now before the copyright cops take it down.
Scared Stiff Rating: 8/10
