I don't have much to do with the trans scene--I don't have a horse in the race and I've had some bad experiences with trans and trans-adjacent individuals being shrill and unhinged, and I have no time or space for that drama in my life. So I keep my distance and maintain a "live and let live" stance.
Despite my own previous experiences and fatigue/exasperation with the current political landscape, this story drew me in. The movie was just awesome. If the metaphor was heavy-handed, for me the execution made up for it. Just as should always be the case, the writing was not compromised by its purpose as a vehicle for a message. The characters were interesting, the antagonists were bizarre and the whole thing made me think of those weird 90s live action Nickelodeon shows--Are You Afraid of the Dark, Pete & Pete, stuff like that. The production and acting in this movie served it well. It was a piece of art, strange and unsettling, and the passion for the medium is apparent just as the intention to draw your eye to a certain set of ideas was in retrospect.
I like good movies, and I would say that this was worth the watch. ๐ค๐ป๐ค๐ป