Review of the movie “Victor/ Victorious”

Julie Andrews plays the title role in the 1982 sex comedy Victor/Victorious. Julie Andrews portrays a struggling actor who is a woman impersonating a male playing a woman in the film. The main character of the film, Victoria Grant, is unable to land a singing gig; as a result, she decides to pose as a male singer under the management of Todd, a buddy who has also failed to land a singing gig. They came up with this strategy when Victoria's voice prevented her from landing a singing gig as a female singer. They do think she can get work as a male vocalist, though. The singer ends up getting hired and as a male singer as the people who refused to hire her as a female singer as fascinated by her soprano voice as a man. The major theme in the movie is the view of females in the entertainment industry during the time the movie was shot.

The movie is based on another German movie shot in the year 1933 titled “Viktor Und Viktoria”. The movie also touches on the sexuality theme through Todd, who is the manager of Andrews and is in turn gay. Two reviews of this movie are considered in this case and analyzed in terms of the language used by the author, the opinions they express concerning the films and their general views on the themes exhibited throughout the movie.

According to a review done by Roger Ebert, the movie is a classic and it is heavily themed with the topic of masculinity in the movie and entertainment industry of the days the movie was shot. The author of this review does a good job in explaining the general plot of the story, where he goes on to talk about the origin of the idea of Andrews pretending to be a man. He goes on further and mentions some of the important happenings in the movie. These include the time when the owner of a nightclub by the name of James Garner ends up falling in love with Andrews, not knowing who she truly is. He refuses to accept that she is a man for she is so lovely. He further tells of how the girlfriend of the club owner gets jealous and the ensuing controversies. However, the author of the review does not address the major themes of the movie adequately in his review.

To write a better review, he should have emphasized on the major themes, especially the masculinity in the movie and entertainment industry at that time, for it is impossible not to talk about in a review. This can be owed to the fact that the plot of the movie is developed around this theme and hence it is hard to miss. The fact that Andrews is an extremely skilled performer but ends up missing the opportunity of showcasing her skills due to the fact that she is a woman shows the intensity the masculinity in this movie and hence the importance of talking about this theme in any kind of review. He should have included facts about how unfair it was for Andrews to be denied the opportunity to be a singer simply because she was a woman, a role she later gets when she pretends to be a man. The review should also have talked about the various fights and brawls in the night clubs in depth. The brawls add a certain pleasurable violence in the movie although the author of the review simply s describes them as not being funny. Without a little sense of violence in the movie, it would have been hard to imagine the night club experiences of the time.

In another review titled “The classic canon: Cross-Dressing for Love and Work in Tootsie Victor Victoria”, the author of the review pays great attention to the main theme of the movie. The author also does a good job in explaining how the plot starts and how it thickens towards the end. In his review, the author clearly discusses how the lead character, Victoria has fun with her character. She has a lot of fun with her role as a man, and this makes the movie more fun to watch. The review writes “Victoria’s experience of masquerading as a man is not nearly as complex as Michael Dorsey’s. Victoria has fun with it, teasing other men when they appear uncomfortable with her feminine features, and often chomping on a large cigar.” This expounds very well how Victoria takes her new role as a man. This is evident in the real movie where she says that “there are things available to me that never were as a woman.” The review also discusses the confused romance that happens in the movie with clear distinctive language.

The author of this review is able to clearly explain most of the major themes in the movie, ranging from the masculinity, the confused sexuality, conflict, love and other dramatic effects that arise. However, the review does not contain a substantial analysis of the comical effects that are bound to come up in a cross-dressing movie.

References

 Adams, T. (1982). Victor/Victoria. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

Benshoff, H. M., & Griffin, S. (2011). America on Film: Representing race, class, gender, and sexuality at the movies. John Wiley & Sons.

Niemiec, R. M., & Wedding, D. (2013). Positive psychology at the movies: Using films to build virtues and character strengths. Hogrefe Publishing.

Ebert, Roger. "Victor/Victoria." (1982). Retrieved from http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/victorvictoria-1982

"The Classic Canon: Cross-Dressing for Love and Work in “Tootsie” and “Victor Victoria”." I Like to Watch (n.d.). Retrievd from: https://liketowatchblog.wordpress.com/2016/08/27/the-classic-canon-cross-dressing-for-love-and-work-in-tootsie-and-victor-victoria/