An out-of-work Parisian singer (Julie Andrews), on the verge of starvation, hooks up with a gay nightclub performer (Robert Preston) in Blake Edwards's gender-bender musical Victor/Victoria (set in 1934). The premise, the brainchild of Preston's "Toddy," has the singer posing as a female impersonator, or "a woman pretending to be a man pretending to be a woman." The big problem is that Andrews is never convincing as "Victor" (i.e., a man). So why then, short haircut notwithstanding, does he/she become the toast of Paris? I dunno, but a nagging suspicion remains: someone other than the director's wife might have been better cast. The second act introduces a new set of characters, including a Chicago mobster (James Garner) who finds himself attracted to the singer. He's "practically" sure he knows her true gender, but holds off making any overtures until he's absolutely certain. This, by the way, was not the case in the original 1933 German film, Viktor und Viktoria, but does allow Edwards to practice a kind of liberalism. The kind that safely plays to both sides of the fence. With Lesley Ann Warren and Alex Karras, songs by Henry Mancini and Leslie Bricusse.
Recommended:
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