She’s the He: A Charming Trans-centric Comedy
by Karenna Blomberg
Sometimes, you encounter a movie premise that sticks out to you so much that you know you just have to watch it. A mere synopsis sparks curiosity and promises to be either a triumphant or tragic film watching experience. She’s the He, one of the offerings from SIFF 2025, certainly has a curiosity-inducing, albeit tough-sell, premise: a lighthearted buddy comedy about two high schoolers who come up with a plan to pretend to be transgender in order to get access to the girls locker room. Loglines like that call to mind the serious, false, and disturbing rhetoric surrounding the transgender community being thrown around in American politics at the moment, and it’s hard to imagine an execution of this premise careful enough not to be egregiously offensive while still treacherous enough to be funny. Of course, it’s not impossible to imagine—because this movie absolutely pulls it off.
Before you judge me too hard, let me clarify: The thing that makes She’s the He work is not found in the synopsis itself, but within the fabric of its production. The two main characters, Alex (Nico Carney) and Ethan (Misha Osherovich), are both played by trans actors; the director, Siobhan McCarthy, is nonbinary and has assembled a cast and crew made up of almost entirely queer and trans people. Apologies for the fake-out, but everything is above board: McCarthy’s take on this dubious-on-paper premise is silly and sappy, dripping with a classical sense of satire, and centrally focused on queer joy.
Alex and Ethan initially pretend to be trans girls to pick up women, cheekily nodding towards the growing societal notion that you have to win the “oppression Olympics” (as per TikTok) to be considered interesting or desirable. However, early into the execution of their plan, Ethan begins to realize that the act is not really an act at all, and begins to more deeply explore the concept of gender identity. Because the purpose of the film is to plainly satirize the common disinformation that trans people are only transitioning to “game the system,” or for some other kind of gain, there is not a lot of time spent really ruminating on details of the teen’s plan, (or on how messed up the original plan was). But as long as you’re willing to play along with the fast and loose plotting and general glazing over of moral sticking points, the film is magical.
Sure, there are some negotiable imperfections: You need to be prepared to jump from subject to subject a bit frenetically, and as mentioned, you’re definitely going to encounter some plotting and pacing issues that disorient and grate away at the narrative charm a little bit. There is also definitely a disconnect from why anything Alex and Ethan do makes sense to them in the moment. But seeing as the point of the film is to highlight the ridiculousness of its own premise, all this gets a pass from me.
The comedic style of She’s the He—pop-y and goofy with bright colors and one-liners galore—brings to mind both classic early ‘00s high school comedies and more recent contemporaries in the “queer high school comedy” genre, such as 2024’s Bottoms. The Bottoms comparison is even more apt considering that both have a bit of a jarring and bizarre but amusing final act.
McCarthy’s script is clever and snappy, and bolstered by what is either godlike delivery or phenomenal ad-libbing from Carney and Osherovich. Carney especially is playing in an entirely different league of comedy ball, with near nonstop giggle-inducing quips and an infectious, charmingly toxic leading man energy.
While certainly having its flaws, She’s the He is a refreshing, needed perspective on the teen comedy. Especially now, with trans people’s lives and rights under attack from our government merely for existing, seeing a film centered on joy and love and friendship from a trans, queer point of view is not only moving, but arguably more crucial than ever.