Elle Fanning, Naomi Watts, and Susan Sarandon star in the new movie "About Ray," showing how one teen's transition from a girl named Ramona to a boy named Ray affects his entire family. The Weinstein Company just released the first trailer, which opens with a frank discussion on mood swings and menstrual cycles, and leads to questions like this:

Susan Sarandon's Dolly: "Why can't she just be a lesbian?"
Naomi Watts' Maggie: "Because she's not a lesbian, Mom, she's a ... boy."

The trailer shows Ray getting into a fight with other kids while his mom struggles not only with the fear that he may change his mind later in life, but with the fact that she has to track down his absent father to get his consent for the transition.

Here's the synopsis from The Weinstein Company:

ABOUT RAY tells the stirring and touching story of three generations of a family living under one roof in New York as they must deal with the life-changing transformation by one that ultimately affects them all. Ray (Elle Fanning) is a teenager who has come to the realization that she isn't meant to be a girl and has decided to transition from female to male. His single mother, Maggie (Naomi Watts), must track down Ray's biological father (Tate Donovan) to get his legal consent to allow Ray's transition. Dolly (Susan Sarandon), Ray's lesbian grandmother is having a hard time accepting that she now has a grandson. They must each confront their own identities and learn to embrace change and their strength as a family in order to ultimately find acceptance and understanding."

Here's the powerful, emotional -- but also warm and funny -- trailer:


We should all have parents as wonderful and accepting as Ray's mom! "About Ray" opens September 18. It looks like it's going to be a great showcase for both Elle Fanning and Naomi Watts, and -- who knows -- we may see their names come up around Oscar time.

Watch the trailer.

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