Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | The Final Verdict
About the Movie:
Victor/Victoria is a musical comedy directed by Blake Edwards. Although it’s not considered a gay movie, it has a gay main character and homophobia is a central theme. On top of that, the gay characters are not cast in a negative light, which is a bit surprising for a mainstream movie released in 1982.
The Story:
Victor/Victoria is about Victoria Grant (Julie Andrews), an out of work soprano who is about to get kicked out of the room she rents in a down-and-out hotel. She meets Caroll “Toddy” Todd, an aging gay nightclub performer who just got fired for having instigated a brawl at the club where he worked.
When Toddy notices Victoria having dinner at an upscale restaurant, he remembers seeing her audition and walks in to say hello. Victoria explains that he shouldn’t stay because she’s planning on putting a cockroach in her salad to get the meal comped. But things don’t go as planned, especially when the cockroach gets loose and causes a panic.
Toddy and Victoria escape, then go back to Toddy’s apartment and talk. Toddy decides that if Victoria lowers her voice she can pretend to be a female impersonator. He insists that if she goes along with his plan, she will become the toast of Paris. He introduces Victoria to Andre Cassell (John Rhys-Davies), a successful talent agent, as Count Victor Grazinski and the plan works.
On Victoria’s opening night as Victor, she meets mobster King Marchand (James Garner) and the two become interested in each another. And because King is physically attracted to Victor, he refuses to believe that Victor is a man impersonating a woman. And as you can guess, hilarity ensues.
Some Thoughts:
Since the only reason King knows that Victor is not a man is because he’s attracted to him/her, this story could go south very fast. What saves it is that once King finds out that Victor really is Victoria, it’s used to point out how society forces gay people into the closet. This is underscored once more when King finds out that his manly bodyguard, Mr. Bernstein, is gay.
And while the gay characters aren’t portrayed in a negative light, the film does equate straight men with violence. At one point King goes to a bar and starts a fight to prove to himself that he’s not gay.
There’s also a section where Victoria takes King to the opera and King brings her to a boxing match. While this section is played for laughs, I don’t find negative stereotypes amusing.
Another problem I have with Victor/Victoria is that Victoria never looks like a drag queen. While she does wear stage make-up, it’s not the same as drag. I also can’t believe that any of the gay cast members would think that Victoria is actually Victor.
While I can forgive some of the heterosexual stereotypes, the lack of a suitable ending is a crime. The film is about getting Victoria and King together, but how the final scene plays out isn’t clear. You can figure it out if you make some assumptions, but that shouldn’t be the case.
The Final Verdict:
Even with its flaws, Victor/Victoria is an enjoyable screwball comedy with good intentions.
