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TRANSAMERICA Felicity Huffman, best known as one of TV's Desperate Housewives, inhabits the type of role that seems to automatically win trophies. But this is no mere parlor trick of a performance: If anything, Huffman approaches her role of Bree, a transsexual ready to make that transition from "he" to "she," in a surprisingly understated fashion, playing up the character's conservative qualities while ignoring potentially flamboyant elements. Bree's journey begins just prior to her operation, when she learns that her one tryst with a woman 17 years earlier has left her with a son, a street hustler named Toby (Kevin Zegers). Unable to reveal to Toby her true identity, she pretends to be a church lady involved in charitable activities, which in this case means allowing the boy to travel with her cross-country to get back to LA. Transamerica is ultimately a road movie as much as it's a character study, and it proves to be satisfying on both fronts. Rating: ***

OPENS FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10:

CURIOUS GEORGE: Animated; voices of Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore.

FINAL DESTINATION 3: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Ryan Merriman.

FIREWALL: Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen.

THE PINK PANTHER: Steve Martin, Kevin Kline.