There are a surprising number of comedies with plots that revolve around characters pretending to be a person of the opposite gender for a variety of self-serving reasons, but honestly I can’t recall there ever being one in which one of said characters turns out to actually be transgender. Writer and director Siobhan McCarthy, themselves trans, has changed that with their quirky new comedy / drama She’s the He!

If movies are to be believed, most teenagers become fixated on losing their virginity as their senior year of high school draws to a close, and Ethan’s (Misha Osherovich) best friend Alex (Nico Carney) proves no exception. Neither of the boys are very popular however, which means that Alex is very unlikely to get a chance with his crush, Sasha (Malia Pyles). That is until he hatches a plan to pretend to be a trans woman in order to get closer to her, for which he will also need to rope in an understandably reluctant Ethan.

The somewhat spastic Alex is not doing the best job of executing the scheme, but Ethan finds himself developing a real friendship with Sasha and her friend Forest (Tatiana Ringsby) and in the process begins to realize that he might actually be a trans woman. Of course, this kind of trickery never works out, even if it is no longer a lie for one of the two friends, and when they have to face the consequences for their deception their friendship may not survive it.

The story at the core of She’s the He! is sweetly convincing and handled with a surprising amount of grace for a movie that shares Superbad‘s obsession with drawings of phalluses. The relationships are convincing as is the visible hurt the characters sometimes cause each other, with the cast all navigating the material adeptly. Osherovich is particularly strong, and watching her come out of her shell and finally feel comfortable in her own skin is a joyously moving experience.

Unfortunately, the movie really wants to be a witty, teen sex comedy ala the aforementioned Superbad. This isn’t a bad thing in and of itself, and McCarthy does manage to successfully pull off one major gross-out gag. The problem is that beyond that—and the core conceit’s send-up of anti-trans talking points—there is very little else here that is all that funny. It’s all still enjoyable enough to watch, it’s just a shame that the jokes weren’t better developed. Either way though, this is a charming movie with a heartening message of self-acceptance that is sure to hold a special place in many viewer’s hearts. ★★★½

Not Rated. Contains strong language, sexual material, and bloody images.