Review: Comedic 'Homebody' Puts a Fresh Spin on the Body-Swapping Genre

Johnny (Tre Ryder) is a trans kid with an intense fixation on the babysitter, Melanie (Colby Minifie). It's understandable; Johnny's mother, Claire (Maria Dizzia) has to work long hours, and Melanie is something of a model of womanhood.

But Melanie is also about to leave the babysitting gig in order to pursue a career as a doula. Her last day with Johnny is about to be cut short by a pregnant client's imminent delivery – that is, until Johnny, trying out a "Free Spirit Meditation" technique from an online video, ends up occupying Melanie's body for an adventure-filled afternoon.

What happens next is a juvenile fish out of water and stumbling through a variety of situations that might flummox most adults, let along eight-year-old kids. Melanie eventually gets involved in the antics when Johnny figures out how to communicate with her – she's been exiled into her own subconscious, evidently – and with Johnny still stuck in her head and the pregnant client having contractions, Melanie needs to think quickly in order to save the day (and her career prospects).

A delightful and refreshing take on childhood, and how children and adults relate to one another, "Homebody" is also an empathetic look at what it means to be in a body that doesn't match a person's mind, and how trans kids need to be heard, rather than defined in a top-down, imposing manner, by the adults around them.

Minifie proves equal to the tough task of portraying a child in an adult body, radiating innocence and charm. Ariel Marx's upbeat, engaging original score is also a plus.

Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.

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