movie: Victor/Victoria
starring: Julie Andrews, Robert Preston
genre: Comedy, Musical
year: 1982
format: Hollywood Suites Channel
plot: A woman down on her luck pretends to be a female impersonator in the 1930's
Remake of the 1933 movie and of the 1935 First a Girl.
The lead character, Victoria, falls in love with a man, but in order to keep her identity safe, she continues to live her public life as her alter ego Victor, which begins to take it's toll on her boyfriend. Shortly there after, the boyfriend's bodyguard informs him he's gay, making the boyfriend; who's a mobster, feel uncomfortable. This then causes some issues for the mobster boyfriend with his business partners forcing Victoria's hand to revealing her true identity.
The whole movie is about public perception. How we present ourselves, be it for gain or survival in society. The story takes place at a time when a woman having a job outside the home was still considered unnecessary to begin with, add to it the fact she's an entertainer, surrounded by openly gay men, and you've got a lot of prejudice to deal with. There are a few scenes in the beginning of the movie, where we see our lead character so desperate, she nearly sleeps with her landlord because she's broke and hasn't eaten in days, and a scene where she's planning to con her way out of a restaurant bill.
I find it ironic that the same year Dustin Hoffman stared in Tootise, as a man who pretends to be a woman to get a job. As well, the line "a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman" would be mirrored a decade later in Interview with the Vampire "vampires pretending to be humans pretending to be vampires, how avant garde"
what did I learn? It's always going to be about the meatballs.
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