Victor/Victoria and some thoughts
Victor/Victoria is the Blake Edwards film in which a woman, Victoria Grant (played by Julie Andrews), pretends to be a man, Count Victor Grazinski, pretending to be a woman in order to become famous on the night club circuit in 1930s Paris. In the course of her fraud, she meets King Marchand (played by James Garner [hubba hubba]) who is attracted to her from the second he sees her on stage. When the 'she' on stage reveals that she is actually a 'he' (I know, it's all very confusing.), Marchand is disgusted with himself, but can't shake the feelings of attraction - even when he meets the 'Count' backstage. The attraction is returned, of course, and everything is complicated. AND HILARIOUS!!!
There is a scene in the movie in which Victoria (as Count Grazinski) and King Marchand are fleeing from a bust up in a nightclub. Marchand has already discovered Count Grazinski's secret (he's really a woman), but has not revealed this. When they hide from the cop chasing them, King moves in close and says, "I don't care if you are a man." And the Count says, "I'm NOT a man." Then Kings affirms, "I STILL don't care," and they kiss. (BTW, I LOVE this scene. It's romantic, and beautifully lit, and Julie Andrews is simply stunning while Garner is quite steamy.)
Now. I wonder if King would have gone for the kiss if he had NOT known that the Count was a woman. Before he discovered the secret, he'd been battling himself over his very strong attraction for the Count. He was confounded and frustrated and really just very confused about his feelings. One reason being his business partners. He knew he'd be finished if his gangster business partners found out about these feelings, and with his moll (Leslie Ann Warren is AWESOME in this role) being a blabbermouth, there was high probability that they would. But you can see him struggling with this attraction. Then he decides to 'investigate,' because is he really attracted to a man - even though he's never had this happen before? And he discovers the secret. But...what if he hadn't? Would he have said "I don't care if you are a man," in the safety of that dark doorway?
I contend that if the movie were written in today's society, he would. He would not know she was actually a woman, but they would kiss, and she would say, "I'm not a man," and he'd say, "I still don't care."
There is a scene in the movie in which Victoria (as Count Grazinski) and King Marchand are fleeing from a bust up in a nightclub. Marchand has already discovered Count Grazinski's secret (he's really a woman), but has not revealed this. When they hide from the cop chasing them, King moves in close and says, "I don't care if you are a man." And the Count says, "I'm NOT a man." Then Kings affirms, "I STILL don't care," and they kiss. (BTW, I LOVE this scene. It's romantic, and beautifully lit, and Julie Andrews is simply stunning while Garner is quite steamy.)
Now. I wonder if King would have gone for the kiss if he had NOT known that the Count was a woman. Before he discovered the secret, he'd been battling himself over his very strong attraction for the Count. He was confounded and frustrated and really just very confused about his feelings. One reason being his business partners. He knew he'd be finished if his gangster business partners found out about these feelings, and with his moll (Leslie Ann Warren is AWESOME in this role) being a blabbermouth, there was high probability that they would. But you can see him struggling with this attraction. Then he decides to 'investigate,' because is he really attracted to a man - even though he's never had this happen before? And he discovers the secret. But...what if he hadn't? Would he have said "I don't care if you are a man," in the safety of that dark doorway?
I contend that if the movie were written in today's society, he would. He would not know she was actually a woman, but they would kiss, and she would say, "I'm not a man," and he'd say, "I still don't care."