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85 comments in total

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46 out of 52 people found the following comment useful :-
How do YOU describe "great?" I define it with this movie., 22 September 2004
Author: bheyer (bheyer@earthlink.net) from Toms River, NJ, USA

My God, the reviewer before me MUST be mad!!! Either that, or he/she must be struggling with their own sexuality! THIS is one of my favorite movies of ALL time. Julie Andrews is in fine musical form; James Garner gives one of his greatest comedic performances since "The Americanization of Emily" (also with Julie Andrews) and Lesley Ann Warren just about steals the picture! This movie scores a solid "10" for comedy, a sterling "10" for music and a rousing "10" for romance! ANYONE that DOESN'T like this movie should suck an egg! HOW did Lesley Ann Warren NOT win an Oscar? Ditto, Robert Preston? I consider myself a guy's guy, but I confess I tear up every time I hear the opening refrains of Julie singing "Crazy World," the film's theme song. Bravo, Blake Edwards!!!

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38 out of 40 people found the following comment useful :-
The last great musical?, 15 January 2003

Author: Sergio Eduardo Orlandi Repka from London, England

"Victor/Victoria" was the film where Blake Edwards finally managed to deliver his valentine to his wife, Julie Andrews, and convince the public to join in. Maybe because of that, it's one of his most heartfelt movies, and the enormous love between the director and his star do as much to warm up this movie as the careful colour composition of Dick Bush's fantastic - and underrated - photography.

This is a film where everything works perfectly. The acting ranges from the impeccable (the leads) through the touching (Alex Karras) right to the truly sublime (Robert Preston and Lesley Ann-Warren). The musical numbers are lovingly staged and shot and, possibly because this is a pre-MTV film, we actually get to see dancers dancing, as opposed to machine-gun assemblies of body parts performing details of not necessarily connected movements. The directorial touch is assured, proficient but never showy: the many complicated set-ups are executed with elegance, economy - not a frivolous camera movement to be seen - and discretion. (The circular pan around Julie as she sings "Crazy World" is a lovely example of how camera movement can create emotion without drawing attention to itself.) The sets and costumes are lavish but, again, do not distract. The screenplay is witty, full of deft touches, and Edwards treats his rather daring (for 1982) theme without blinking, and with great lucidity. (The other drag film of the year was "Tootsie", which stuck to the romance and stayed away from uncomfortable homosexual touches as much as it managed to.) The timing never falters. And the score is priceless.

All in all, a flawless entertainment, which, like the best movies from the studio system's heyday of which "Victor / Victoria" is a proud and worthy descendant, rewards the attentive (and interested) viewer with far more substance - and style - than might appear at first. I do not have the space to analyse this film at the length it deserves; but I can recommend it, which I do wholeheartedly.

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30 out of 32 people found the following comment useful :-
A Great 1962 Movie -- Made in 1982, 9 July 2004
Author: ecarle

Despite all of its gender-bending commentary on sexuality, both hetero- and homo-, "Victor/Victoria" looked and sounded in 1982 (year of "ET" and "The Road Warrior") as if it were made in 1962 -- and that was a good thing. Blake Edwards' trademark ability to combine lush romanticism with immitable slapstick comedy was here matched by a wonderful score by his longtime collaborator Henry Mancini, "Voila!" -- we're back in the early sixties again. (It didn't hurt that stars Julie Andrews and James Garner were hottest in the sixties, and had acted together in 1964's "The Americanization of Emily.")

Robert Preston, "The Music Man" of late fifties Broadway and 1962 screen fame, further added an element of early sixties nostalgia -- with the twist that he here used his booming vocal tones in the service of a delightfully out and comfortable gay man. Preston was one of two hot contenders for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar that year. The winner was Lou Gossett, Jr. for his Drill Instructor in "An Officer And A Gentleman."

Rounding out the great cast are Lesley Ann Warren (sexy and very funny) in an Oscar-nominated role as Garner's mob moll floozie, and Alex Karras, continually funny as Garner's softhearted ox of a bodyguard. (Karras gets a classic Blake Edwards slapstick routine trapped in the freezing snow outside a Paris hotel, getting big laughs out of the simple line: "You've got heat? That's good.")

And be sure to keep a lookout for "Sherloque Tanney" as the French private detective on Victor/Victoria's trail. Tanney was Blake Edwards dentist, and appeared in almost every Blake Edwards film from "Darling Lili" (1970) on. Other than his corpse in "SOB," (1981), the French detective is possibly Dr. Tanney's greatest role on the screen. Tanney, too, gets to anchor several great trademark Blake Edwards slapstick routines.

Oh, and there's music, too. Enough music for a Broadway musical (which is what "Victor/Victoria" became), and with a sad and wistful Mancini title tune (reprised in the film by Andrews) that reminds one a bit of "Moon River" and "Days of Wine and Roses." Just like in the early sixties.

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26 out of 30 people found the following comment useful :-
Le Film Hot, 5 August 2005

Author: Lechuguilla from Dallas, Texas

Dazzling art direction, lavish costumes, funny dialogue, a fabulous soundtrack, and Robert Preston make "Victor/Victoria" one of filmdom's most entertaining musicals of all time. Set in 1934 Paris, and filmed in luscious color, the film tells the story of two down and out friends who carry out an ingenious plan to get rich. Toddy (Robert Preston), a gay performer, persuades Victoria (Julie Andrews), a struggling singer, to change her appearance to that of a man so that she can pose on stage as a female impersonator. Blake Edwards converts the film's clever concept into a film of true cinematic flair and panache.

The film's music alone is enough to make "Victor/Victoria" a winner. With consummate verve, Andrews sings the lively "Le Jazz Hot", a stage performance that has been mimicked by, it seems, one in ten talent competitors in the Miss America Pageant for the last twenty years. The colorful song "The Shady Dame From Seville" is memorable as a cultural classic. Even the restrained "You And Me" is satisfying, with its old fashioned charm. And Henry Mancini's wistful and slightly melancholy original score adds melodic balance to the flashy stage numbers.

The casting is perfect. I cannot imagine anyone other than Julie Andrews as Victoria. James Garner is fine as King Marchand. And in support roles, Lesley Ann Warren adds sexy spunk as Norma, and Alex Karras is surprisingly effective as Marchand's bodyguard. But it is music man Robert Preston who leads this top notch Hollywood talent parade. Preston is likable throughout, and is a hoot in the film's finale.

If the film has a flaw, it might be in the editing. The plot in Act Two slows down. Or, to say it a little differently, it ... drags (so to speak). The 132 minute runtime is a tad long maybe, and so a few scene deletions here and there might have rendered a slight improvement in the pace. But, this is a minor issue, one that I raise only in my grasping-at-straws attempt to find something to complain about.

"Victor/Victoria" is an expressive, fun, one-of-a-kind musical garden party that easily makes my list of top fifty films ever made.

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12 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
A fine way for the stars to break away from their earlier roles, and it's pretty funny, too., 24 April 2000
Author: Tommy-92

Three of the stars of this movie all made their mark playing wholesome characters, (and all in musicals, ironically) but they certainly got rid of those personas in this film. Julie Andrews finally solved the problem of Maria by playing a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman, Robert Preston's gay entertainer is a long, long way from Harold Hill, and Lesley Ann Warren... well, her floozy moll ("Ya mean you really aw... quee-uh?") basically erases all memories of Cinderella. All give excellent performances in this entertaining, funny film from director/co-writer Blake Edwards. And they all get to sing some great songs from Henry Mancini and Leslie Brucusse, among them "Le Jazz Hot," (in which Andrews sings in her lower range, and actually sizzles) "The Shady Dame From Seville," (first sung by Andrews, then hilariously reprised at the end by Preston) and "Chicago, Illinois." (Warren is great in that) Though there is a long stretch in the middle that either included jokes and/or subtleties that went over my head or just wasn't funny, though not bad, otherwise it's a great comedy. In addition to the three performers mentioned, James Garner is also good as the gangster who falls for Andrews but is unsure of her gender.

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12 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
A relief from most of today's movies., 1 December 2002
Author: fredmelden from California

Great wit, wonderful set design, very good acting - What can one say bad about the film? Perhaps the plethora of homosexuals was a bit over the top, as was the part of the private investigator, but these are nit-picks hardly noticed against the background of most modern releases. While I dislike musicals intensely, this one is different, most obviously in the setting for the music. Unlike the incongruous breaking out in song in the middle of conversation, this movie's music occurs within the framework of nightclub acts. This adds to the credibility of a plot that could have spun out of control, much as S.O.B. did (unfortunately). What really sets this movie apart from the crowd of box-office hits that plague us is the incredible wit of the dialogue. The writing is truly wonderful! And Preston is perfect for his character, his repartee style as sharp as the lines Blake Edwards puts in his mouth. It is my tendency to pick apart films on the issue of credibility, allowing as we should for the genre of the film. H.G.Wells once said that good science fiction depended on introducing one and only one fantastic idea, and then developing a plot whose events would follow reasonably from that one idea. Bad science fiction, he said, introduces several such incredible inventions and ideas, creating a plot too fantastic for the reader to immerse him/herself in. So too with movies. Good comedy, science fiction, drama, even action plots, should have one premise that might stretch the limit of credibility, and then develop the plot reasonably from there. Most modern box-office hits fail to do this, and in the process of feeding us one fantasy after another to stimulate our interest and attract our dollars, dulls our minds. Victor / Victoria is good writing because it starts with its one major premise - an unsuccessful, though talented singer achieving fame and fortune by altering her sexual image - and lets the plot play itself out. There are a few minor stretches beside the main premise, but without fantastic physical feats, explosions, car chases, and CG effects, Edwards has created a script that pulls - rather than pushes - you in to the plot. The weakest part of the plot is the fact that Andrew's character attains success not just by cross-dressing, but also by substantially altering her act. We are supposed to ignore the fact that she has changed from simply singing to singing with well choreographed movement. However, this is not a serious flaw, because in the real Hollywood (and Broadway), very good talent is habitually unsuccessful, while the fantastic and ridiculous is placed on an altar. (Does anyone really think Schwarzenegger can act?) Did I say acting? Perhaps I saved the best for last. Andrews playing herself is perfect here, Garner is fantastic, and Leslie Ann Warren adapted to her character's personality so completely that I hardly realized it was her. And, at the risk of repetition, Preston is perfection itself. The set design was almost excessive in the distraction it caused, for you could not help noticing how artfully it was designed and lit. Finally, Henry Mancini wrote the music. The DVD commentary added substantially to the production, making the entire package a 5-star offering, a rating I rarely give.

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7 out of 10 people found the following comment useful :-
Highly enjoyable transgender comedy with Andrews and Preston at their best..., 3 September 2006

Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

Paris in the '30s is the setting for this screwball sex comedy wherein JULIE ANDREWS, for the sake of being employed, takes a job as a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman--figure that one out. Then we have a great moment when ROBERT PRESTON does an imitation of Julie singing "The Shady Dame from Seville" in drag--yes drag--the actor who played such sturdy romantic leads in the '40s and '50s is hilarious as a gay blade who hooks up with Julie during a restaurant scene in which she plants a cockroach in her plate to avoid paying for dinner.

That's the kind of romp this is. And it's extremely witty, with JAMES GARNER as Julie's romantic interest who hasn't figured out why he's so attracted to "the shady dame" when she's supposed to be a man.

First-rate sets and cinematography in color, and while none of it really makes any sense, the song and dance routines are fabulous with some great tunes by Henry Mancini. LESLEY ANN WARREN gives a priceless performance as a bird brained vamp in her Oscar nominated supporting role.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The Gayest Paree Ever, 6 September 2008

Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

In 1964 Blake Edwards had directed his wife Julie Andrews in her film debut The Americanization Of Emily which James Garner costars with her and Henry Mancini wrote a fine title song for the film. The film was sort of a trial run before Andrews was launched full blast by Walt Disney in Mary Poppins.

This fine team reunited 18 years later for the gender defying comedy Victor Victoria and Mancini wrote a few songs for Julie Andrews and Robert Preston and Lesley Ann Warren to do. A decade later Julie Andrews had it adapted to the Broadway stage for her.

Andrews is starving in Paris, poor as a match girl, ready to lick the spaghetti sauce off a bib when she falls in with gay performer Robert Preston who is equally on his uppers. With conventional acts, neither is getting anywhere. But when Preston gets the idea to pass Andrews off as a man who is a female impersonator, they are a success. They even pretend to be lovers to keep the masquerade going.

It all starts to unravel when visiting American gangster James Garner and his moll Lesley Ann Warren drop in to the nightclub. Andrews gets his hormones going and he's not sure why.

Going in drag is an old movie story. Everyone from Katharine Hepburn to Gabby Hayes has done it on the screen. But the questions about sexual identity and gender attraction were never so provocatively raised before until Victor Victoria.

Andrews and Preston were both in Blake Edwards immediately preceding film SOB and both had a pair of outrageous parts in that one also which I highly recommend. Andrews and Preston got rewarded with Oscar nominations, she for Best Actress and Preston for Best Supporting Actor. Julie lost to Meryl Streep for Sophie's Choice and Preston lost to Lou Gossett, Jr. for an Officer And A Gentleman.

But saddest for me was Lesley Ann Warren who did a marvelous job recreating a throwback role from all those old gangster films of the Thirties. Her part was just the kind you used to see Joan Blondell or Glenda Farrell play to perfection. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress, but lost to Jessica Lange for Tootsie.

In fact Victor Victoria was nominated for Best Costume Design, Best Art &Set Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay. It did win in a category that seems like it was created for the film, Best Adapted Music and Musical Score. That was a new one on me when I saw it.

Over 25 years after it was made Victor Victoria is still one fresh and naughty item. And a milestone in the mainstream for GLBT themed films.

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7 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow, 25 July 2002

Author: heavenly_mist from California

First of all, let me just say that I am slightly obsessed with Julie Andrews and her work. With that out of the way... I love her in this movie because it's not your typical Julie Andrews movie. Most people see her in The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins or (if you know this far back in her career) Cinderella. However, she delivers a flawless performance as Victor/Victoria. The only skepticism I have about this movie is seeing her as a man. She's so feminine (in her mannerisms, voice, appearance, etc.) that it's almost impossible to think that she's a man. Robert Preston is wonderfully funny, and I always love James Garner. The movie probably could have done without Lesley Ann Warren's song and dance number (why ruin Julie and Robert's wonderful score?)... On a side note, Warren's character reminded me a bit of Jean Hagen's Lina Lamont in Singin' in the Rain; they each had their characters down perfectly, and you got just annoyed with them enough to hate them but like them at the same time...

Of course, Andrews does a beautiful job with all the songs- my favorite being her first jazz number. All in all, an impossibly wonderful performance by all involved.

DEFINITELY ten out of ten!

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Hey! I have a great idea -- let's put on a farce!, 23 September 2008

Author: Robert J. Maxwell (rmax304823@yahoo.com) from Deming, New Mexico

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Written and directed by Blake Edwards, this is a fast, witty farce about a woman posing as a man posing as a woman in 1930s Paris. Victoria (Julie Andrews) is down on her luck. Oh, not as bad as George Orwell in "Down and Out in Paris and London," but pretty far down, this being the depression. She develops a scheme to cheat her way through a full meal at a restaurant by planting a cockroach in her salad. It more or less works but, more important, she runs into cheerful, savvy, gay Robert Preston who becomes her manager.

Andrews has been unable to find work as a soprano because singers are a glut on the market, but Preston promotes her as a female impersonator. She succeeds wildly. Among the audience at one of her shows in a fancy nightclub is rich James Garner, his coarse moll, Leslie Anne Warren, and his big, beefy bodyguard, Alex Karras.

Garner is sexually aroused by Andrews' sultry performance and when she whips off her headgear and reveals herself as a man named Victor, Garner's face falls marvelously. He's been excited by a MAN! When he gets back to his room he needs to prove his manhood by virtually attacking Warren. Alas, his homosexual anxiety renders him impotent, but Warren is all understanding. "Awww, honey, it's no big deal. Women are lucky. They can fake it. Oh, not with YOU, baby! Listen, just 'cause you can't get it -- Up till now it's been wonderful." After that, it gets complicated.

The writing is sharply witty. In the restaurant, at the very beginning, when Andrews and Preston meet, there is a hilarious exchange between Preston and the waiter, played by Graham Stark as one of those contemptuous French waiters who always seems distracted, as if mentally deconstructing La Pensee Sauvage, you know, and you're interrupting his cogitation. But Preston, being gay, is his equal. Stark pours a glass of white wine for Preston, who squints at it with distaste and remarks, "The last time I saw something like this they had to shoot the horse." Preston is trying to dress Andrews as a man and teach her to act in a masculine fashion. He tells her thoughtfully, "There are two main obstacles we must overcome." Andrews asks, "My bosom?", and then adds that if she has to bind her bosom for years it will wind up looking like an old wallet. After Andrews' success, Preston checks them into a three-star hotel and announces, "You must see the bathroom. It's a religious experience." Much of the humor revolves around gender bending, of course, but the script treats the audience as reasonably sophisticated rather than 19th-century rural twits. I don't think Blake Edwards depends on shock value for laughs. The laughs arise out of the situations.

There are a couple of songs thrown in. Julie Andrews has a splendid voice, and a range that runs from elephantine sub-rumble to air raid siren. The dance numbers are elaborately staged, with what I take to be a deliberate homage to Bob Fosse -- plenty of derbies, clicking fingers, and swiveling pelvises.

There's a mostly dull romantic piece in the mosaic, done seriously, in which Andrews and Garner try to come to terms with the fact that they love each other, although if they want to keep her real sex a secret, they must go dancing at a gay bar. And some of the comic interludes seems a little forced, at least on multiple viewings. Andrews, in her masculine disguise, bravely accepts a cigar -- and coughs. She looks immeasurably better as a woman than as a man. And the final number, in which Preston is in drag and singing one of Andrews' numbers and falling all over himself, isn't really either imaginative or very amusing.

But those are small things. Overall, this is a funny farce, skillfully written, directed, and performed.

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