MovieChat Forums > Video > ATM: 'Victor/Victoria' (1982)

ATM: 'Victor/Victoria' (1982)


Alright, after much waffling I've finally picked one I think should be fun for a talk or two!

Plot:[/b] A struggling female soprano finds work playing a male female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life.
[b]Dir:[/b] Blake Edwards
[b]Starring:[/b] Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston, Lesley Ann Warren
[b]Themes:
Gender, music, relationships, sexuality, identity, theater, scams, etc...

I hope this is a choice that jives with most of you and provides some lively discussion. It's one of my favorite films and always puts a smile on my face by the end. Funny, I picked one from the same year as the last one, we're a bit stuck in the 80s it seems, hah!

Anywho, chat away will ya?! I'm sure as people chime in (if they do) I'll be bouncing around weighing in too. Happy watching!

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Great choice. Really fun, entertaining movie. I want to watch it again before I chime in with more thoughts.

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Glad ya like it, I look forward to said thoughts!

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An interesting choice. I saw this film in the cinema way back in 1982 when dirt and I were still relatively young. The key word here is "relatively".

The movie had some funny moments. My favorite part was Robert Preston (The Music Man) who is one of my favorite actors of all time. RIP. Unfortunately the idea that anyone would actually mistake Julie Andrews for a man took me right
out of the movie. I just could not suspend my disbelief to that tenuous position.

It has high ratings (7.6 on IMDB and 96% on RT, so apparently I'm in the minority here. A much funnier movie on the whole male/female impersonation thing is Tootsie imho. I really liked that movie. Bill Murray had a small part, but stole the show.



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Tootsie is a great movie. I enjoyed both movies and was willing to go along with the idea that someone could mistake Andrews for a man, even though it is highly unlikely.

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Tootsie is good too, though I still prefer this film. I totally get not buying Andrews as a man, but I think that kind of imbues it with just the sort of ridiculousness that makes this film so funny and charming. Plus, she's just so damn good in it as is Preston who definitely steals the show!

Sorry, I didn't pick Tootsie for ya 😉

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No apology necessary. That's just me.

You make a good point about that imbuing the film with ridiculousness. And Robert Preston definitely stole the show.


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Whaa... You couldn't buy Andrews as a man, even after she strapped her bosom? ;)

They could've gone easier on the eye make-up to make her more convincing, but that's Hollywood for ya. I guess it's one of those things that you just have to go along with :)

And I think it's much easier to feminize a man, than it is to masculinize a woman (make-up and all that).

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No I really couldn't. Sorry. Of course part of that could be that I knew it was Julie Andrews. Actually it's difficult to do either. I didn't buy Tom Hanks as a woman in Bosom Buddies either.


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I said that more jokingly :) But I don't think they were going for realism, really.

You're right. It depends on the person really (and their make-up artist). Both transformations require a good amount of duct tape though, so there's that lol

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The Handyman's Secret Weapon.


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BTW, I didn't buy Robin Williams as a woman in Mrs. Doubtfire either.


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Good choice, Dreamers! I won't be in despair over humanity's capacity for evil this week lol

I hadn't seen Victor/Victoria before, and I enjoyed it.

I have to say, it did feel like a film from an earlier time. I had to keep reminding myself it was an 80's film with all that was going on on screen.

Victor(ia) really threw King for a loop in the beginning there. I didn't see his appeal though, especially after he "fed" Norma that soap.

Speaking of Norma, she was my favourite character. Her and the waiter. I would've liked to see more of her.

I really liked the last musical number as well. I'd take a humorous number over a straight one any time.

I got the feeling that people were relatively open and accepting in the 30's. I'm not sure if that's the case irl.

I would've like for the movie to go deeper into the whole gender thing, with the differences in Victoria's experience as a man vs as a woman. But for a musical comedy it did a decent job of exploring it's themes, especially when it came to sexuality.

Julie Andrews as a man didn't take me out of it, but her dress fitting Toddy did. Or they had a back up in his size, just in case lol

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Aw, I'm so glad it was able to pull you out of all that monstrosity for a bit!

I've seen it a couple times now and I swear the first like two times I figured it was an earlier film too...then I looked up when it came out and was really surprised, so I feel ya on that one.

Norma was great to watch, Warren has been a delight in most things I've seen her in. She does ditzy, but with a bit of depth real well. I don't see the appeal of King all that much either, but I did like how she changed his mind towards the end so much so he didn't care if he was seen kissing a man in public. He had the biggest arc, in the sense that his worldview was shaken up the most.

Preston's 'Seville' number is such a hoot, it cracks me up every time. You can tell they were having a real ball with it and I agree that a silly number like that is refreshing after mostly getting serious one,s not only in this, but most musical films. It gives the ending a lot of warmth, I think.

I think it did alright with the themes. Maybe, if it were made now it'd go into them more as they're more visible topics and such socially, but....for it being a movie then (80s and 30s), I think they were pretty open with it. I remembered thinking it seemed like a fairly progressive movie for its time. I liked what it touched on, and do agree it could've gone deeper, but it still was enough to not be hidden within the rest and to not feel like some gimmick tacked on. I felt like they were sincere and forward about it, but maybe just not quite ambitious enough or matching with our slightly more modern sensibilities about it all.

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Yes, viewing it from a modern perspective it leaves you wanting a bit more depth to the exploration of the themes. I guess we're more used to more explicit tackling of such things. But they were very matter-of-fact about it, and didn't dance around anything, so I'm more happy with the end result than not.

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Right on, I'm glad you checked it out & commented!

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Now I'm hungry for waffles.


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You're welcome, mwahaha! I hope you are able to satiate your craving! If not, pancakes are always an option too....

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Dis be true, mon. Sometimes a good prime rib or steak will also do the trick.



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Anybody have any favorite or even least favorite lines, scenes, songs, characters, etc?

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The "binding my bosom" bit got a chuckle out of me.

I liked anything with the waiter. He was excellent. And that whole scene in the restaurant.

Also, when Victoria and King are having sex, and the bodyguard busts in, WITH THE DOOR!

That man eating, that Victoria watches through the window. Who eats an eclair like that?

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The waiter was soooo good, he really got his 15 minutes in!

You're right, who does eat like that? I get it was exaggerated because she was so starving at the moment, but geez man, he was bulldozing his mouth!

I think this film gave a lot of, usually dramatic actors, a chance to show their more comedic sides. That's always fun to see.

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My favorite part was after King finds out she's a "man", the way he went to that pub with the intention of wanting to start fights in order to feel masculine again after him being shocked at the notion that he was attracted to a "man". When he orders milk from the bartender and one of the guys said "Mother's milk?" and King says "How bout your sister's?" LMAO now that's the right and proper way to start a fight!! I loved how they all end up getting blotto and drunkenly sing Sweet Adeline together after beating the crap out of one another. I loved all the music numbers. I loved the one when they had the masks on the backs of their heads. I adore this movie.

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I struggled with it as it was a musical farce and the plot was predictable. I found the ending running on with the last number and feel tired of it.

But I found Julie Andrews quite stunning. The props and settings were fantastic. I think if the humor wasn't so meta or a better word self aware and in your face I'd enjoy it better.

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Speaking of Julie Andrews, did you catch her in 1981's SOB?

Best line, delivered by a "medicated" Julie Andrews: "Have you come to see my boobies?"


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No this is was actually the first film I've seen her in. I'll take the recommendation what does sob stand for or is that the name

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SOB stands for Standard Operating Bullshit. The movie was poking fun at the way Hollywood makes movies. It was just okay, but we got a peak at Julie's boobies. The late, great Johnny Carson later thanked her for "showing us that the hills were still alive." (A reference to The Sound of Music.)

Victor/Victoria was not great either imho.

Her best film, of course, was The Sound of Music. It's a must see for everyone, with one of the greatest scores ever in a movie musical. It was filmed mostly in Salzburg Austria. When I was in Austria I took the four hour bus tour of the sites where it was filmed, and it was amazing! If you ever get to Salzburg, you should take the tour.

Her second best film was Mary Poppins.


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See....I'm not a fan of The Sound of Music. I'd much prefer watching this film over that, but hey different strokes and all that. Perhaps we just look for different things in the stuff we watch!

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That's why they make chocolate and vanilla.



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Yeah I don't think anything is wrong with different ones. I do wish I could've liked it better. But maybe I will like her other work. Already this group has shown itself as being exceptional.

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