![]() ![]() There’s even an early scene between Victor and the excessively manly King Marchand (played by the excessively manly James Garner), where Marchand attempts to intimidate Victor into admitting that he is actually a woman in drag. The screenplay was adapted by Julie Andrews’ husband, Blake Edwards, who also directed the film.Ī cynical person might not buy the premise of Julie Andrews, unquestionably feminine as she is, playing a role of an androgynous male drag performer (or “a woman playing a man playing a woman” in the film’s own words), but Andrews’ portrayal of “Victor” is convincing when you take half a step back and look at it from the standpoint that Victor is a man because he says he is. Victor/Victoria was based on the 1933 German film Viktor und Viktoria, which I haven’t seen, so I can’t make any specific comparisons between the two films and whether one is intrinsically better than the other. ![]() And it has one of the best on-screen couples ever, Julie Andrews and Robert Preston, whose chemistry is delightfully cozy as straight woman and gay man teaming up against the heteronormative world of the 1930s. It damn near is better than any other film out there at addressing the fluid dynamics of gender identity, gay, straight, cis, trans, and everyone in between. ![]() There are some minor aspects to the film’s plot that, if it were made today, could probably be handled with a little more sensitivity, but otherwise, Victor/Victoria holds up. I’m relieved to report that pretty much didn’t happen. And considering the plot of Victor/Victoria broaches not only the topics of homosexuality, transgenderism, and feminism, it also is a slapstick-y comedy, there was a part of me that was watching through my mental fingers, waiting for the moment when some awful statement about sexuality or gender identity would explode forth and ruin my childhood memories entirely. It had been probably a good 20 years since I had last seen it, but it had been on heavy rotation throughout my childhood, so while I remembered it fondly, I also remembered how much I’ve remembered loving other films as a kid only to realize how many reprehensible themes they contained as an adult. Will they hold up under the cold, cynical eye of adulthood? What terrible prejudices lurk therein, waiting to be discovered with cringing horror when you what realize racism/sexism/homophobia was flying under the radar 20, 30, 40 years ago? I’m not going to lie, I was more than a little worried when I decided to re-watch Victor/Victoria (1982) for this post. Packed with the standard sexuality farce fare, this fun musical comedy is a real hoot - one that manages to portray the characters as genuine people first and punchlines second, whilst even getting in some insightful points about gender identity and sexuality alongside its standout soundtrack.Going back to watch your childhood favorite films is always fraught. Determined to prove he isn’t in love with another man, King’s investigation threatens Victoria and Toddy’s delicate scheme and could land them all in jail. The fake drag artist is soon the toast of the town, But keeping up the act gets even trickier when he/she catches the eye of a sexually confused gangster King Marchand (James Garner). When English singer Victoria (Andrews) struggles to make ends meet in 1930s Paris, she finds a friend in a veteran gay cabaret performer Toddy (Robert Preston), who comes up with an elaborate plan to start a new career - she pretends to be a man, then establishes a new act as a female impersonator. Gender-bending Julia Andrews dons a tux and a male alter ego to take the Parisian nightlife by storm in Blake Edward’s 1982 farce.
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