Starting in early 90s, when Dwen's mother sees how he is addicted to drugs, she sends him to Oakland to his uncle's house to get clean. He does get clean and in the process makes a few close friends in narcotics anonymous. These friends also help him get comfortable with his sexual identity as a possible trans woman and embrace it and he also comes out to his family. During this time, he also learns some insider tricks on credit card frauds and before you know gets involved in that. Prison soon follows, where he finds a man and they fall in love. Knowing very well that this may not last very long, Dwen still meets the guy every week, and soon becomes a drug smuggler for prison folks alongwith another girl. The lure of money kicks in well. Dwen also is running a legit hair saloon business during this time. A chance encounter with a celebrity pushes her in the world of Hollywood. Word spreads around, and before you know, Dwen has becomes a very popular stylist for a lot of Hollywood celebrities. Even though the salon business and stylist work is giving Dwen good money, he cannot let go of his underground shady financial fraud deals. Of course the feds catch up on him and he is sent to prison for many years. During all this time, Owen also meets another guy, a man of his dreams and he thinks finally he has found love, something that he has been looking for all his life, but as much as the guy loves Dwen, he cannot reconcile that with his Muslim religion. Dwen finally starts to take hormone injections to feel as beautiful outside as he does inside. After a few stints of jail, he finally realizes that its best to stay with legit business and sticks to being a stylist.
Even though at its core, it’s a love story about self-acceptance, resilience, and the journey to becoming the fullness of who you are, its also an exploration of gender identity, sexuality, and survival. It's a bit incredible to see how much stuff can happen in one's life. I mean it's really hard to believe that all this is for real. The film follows Dwen, capturing the duality of her glitz and gangster persona—balancing flashy fashion and a luxurious life as a celebrity stylist with the hidden world of credit card fraud and emotional trauma. How did he do that and that too for so long!! To navigate life through being black, gay, entrepreneur, underground gangster, celebrity stylist and what not. Curry’s journey is anything but ordinary. But sadly fitting that in a film feels rushed. There is a lot happening in front of you on screen and a lot of characters being introduced. I understand that the makers wanted to include the most important chapters of Dwen's life but I wonder with so much going on, would this show have been better as a series! It would hav been nice to see some details around the two men that Dwen loved, the gangster and financial fraud activities, more celebrity stylist stuff and why the hunger for so much money? The actor playing the lead role is really really good. The mother was really over the top and I did not like the actor. All the friends did a good job and I am actually glad how the film focussed on all these important popes who were critical in shaping Dwen's life. The direction though rushed is good.
Beyond its true crime elements, the film is a powerful exploration of gender, self-love, and resilience. Curry’s personal evolution - from identifying as a gay man to fully embracing her identity as a transgender woman—is woven throughout the narrative. It’s not just about survival; it’s about self-acceptance, about stepping fully into who you are. As a movie though, I feel the execution could have been slightly better. (5.5/10)
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