It may be hard to imagine, but the makers of Sundance screened documentary Becoming Chaz want people to know that the little Chastity Bono they remember on Sonny and Cher's 1970s TV show — the one who is now a man named Chaz — is more like you than you think.
In fact, Chaz Bono is just "a regular Joe", says Randy Barbato, who along with his filmmaking partner Fenton Bailey produced and directed the movie documenting Chastity's recent sex change and transformation into Chaz.
That Chastity Bono was a transgendered person who changed her sex via surgery and became Chaz is well-known, but until Becoming Chaz, the details of the transition were kept out of the public eye.
Barbato and Fenton were friends of Chastity for years, and saw her struggle with gender identity. They say Chastity and Chaz are, of course, different. But, in fact, he is the same old she.
"The irony is that, in a way, Chaz is just a regular Joe," Barbato said. "The reason this film is surprising to people is because of how ordinary Chaz is. It's about the things we have in common."
The pair note that Chaz was in a loving relationship as Chastity and that has continued. And his feelings for his mum are no different than many people's feeling toward a parent.
"On one hand it's extraordinary, and there is celebrity. On the other hand, it's kind of ordinary," Barbato said.
Becoming Chaz begins just before Chaz undergoes surgery and flashes back constantly to a childhood surrounded by fame, including footage as a little golden-haired girl on The Sonny And Cher Show.
The doc weaves in an interview with Cher during which she admits to being nervous and uncomfortable with aspects of the sex change, including how it would be perceived in public. "At some point I am going to have to start to call her ‘him'... I am just not comfortable yet," Cher says.
Later, she concludes that she understood his decision, "You've got to do what your heart tells you to do."
