Released in 1982, (same year Blade Runner came out) “Victor/Victoria” earned praise from critics and movie goers alike. Plus, it made enough money at the box office. Victor/Victoria won an Oscar for “Best Original Score.” The film was later adapted into a Broadway musical in 1995 with Julie Andrews reprising her role. Speaking of musicals, the highly anticipated “Joker: Folie a Deux” will be released on October 4, 2024. Before I see Joaquin Phoenix & Lady Gaga sing and dance together, I’m gonna watch and review musical films to keep myself occupied. I may not be a huge fan of musicals, but I’m doing this for James Gunn’s upcoming DC Universe.
Today’s review contains SPOILERS.
On-Key & Off-Key Aspects
On-Key: Julie Andrews, Robert Preston, James Garner & John Rhys-Davies (Gimli from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy) all did a great job for their respective performances.
Musical Numbers are pretty good. Ms. Andrew’s singing is ten times better than Dylan Mulvaney’s god-awful Broadway performance in “365 Days of Girlhood.”
Henry Mancini (The Pink Panther, The Great Race) wrote songs and orchestrated the soundtrack.
Cinematography didn’t succumb to technical issues throughout.
Costume Designs and Set Pieces reflect the 1930s.
Funny Moments that made me laugh like the cockroach scene and a bar fight with Victoria using her high note as a weapon of choice.
I think the film’s title inspired Victor van Dort and his love interest, Victoria Everglot from Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride.”
Off-Key: Julie’s late husband, Blake Edwards didn’t do a solid job directing. He failed to double check the script for potential rewrites.
Victoria & Toddy lack a French accent. It’s supposed to bet set in Paris, France, right?
The Second Act has King who finds out about Victoria’s secret posing as a man as a drag queen too soon or in the words of Robert Downey Jr. in “Tropic Thunder,” “I’m a dude playing a dude disguised as another dude!” It makes the buildup pointless for the big payoff towards the end. Imagine in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man when Green Goblin realizes Peter Parker and Spider-Man are the same guy in their first fight at the parade instead of the dinner scene with Norman realizing Peter’s wound on his arm is actually Spidey’s wound? There are no high stakes afterwards. Victor/Victoria’s conflict becomes progressively dull like Kevin Costner’s “Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 1.”
I find King’s girlfriend, Norma awfully annoying. I can’t stand her voice.
After King breaks up with his girlfriend, he starts a relationship with Victoria which came outta left field. They barely know each other. If this were real life, it’ll take two weeks or more for two people to get to know one another until a relationship is fully established. I hate an early romance in movies.
At first, the first half of the film went well. Then after the big reveal, I was miserably bored. Ugh! I’d rather watch Killer Bee’s hip-hop tunes from “Naruto.”
The Final Verdict: D, FOR DELIRIOUS!
Hate to break it to ya, Victor/Victoria isn’t a masterpiece. I was completely open on watching this film. Two Hours Later, I had a miserable experience. I expected Victor/Victoria as a 10/10. Do not waste your spare time on it. Watch “Chicago” instead.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 