We currently live in a social binary gender system, so a society in which clothes, professions and character traits are not divided into male and female remains only in dreams. However, thanks to this, the world film industry has several excellent stories, the plot of which is based on a voluntary, by the will of a blind chance or evil rock, dressing men into women. Individual films where a man dresses as a woman have become classics of the comedy genre.
"Some like it hotter"
He heads the films about men dressed as women, the cult film "Only in Girls in Jazz" or Some Like it Hot in 1959. The work of Billy Wilder with Marilyn Monroe in the title role instantly won the love of the audience and aroused genuine delight of critics. According to the scenario, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis needed to change into women. Surprisingly, during the preparatory and direct filming process, the actors did not have any problems with the reincarnation. The only thing was that the picture had to be shot in black and white, since in the color version heavy makeup was visible on the faces of the actors, giving their skin an unnatural shade. After the first fitting of female images, the actors, without any embarrassment, went in such a way for a walk around the MGM studio, and then visited the women's restroom, where they corrected their makeup in front of the mirror. Naturally, they had to learn to walk in high-heeled shoes. A professional dancer portraying women on stage was engaged in with Tony Curtis , and Jack Lemmon refused his services, motivating his decision by the fact that he must intentionally walk like a man who had to wear heels. “Only Girls in Jazz” is the best comedy from films where a man changes into a woman.
The greatest achievement of Hollywood comedians
The immortal creation of Sidney Pollack, the Tootsie comedy, is now very popular, and most importantly, truly funny, without vulgarity, vulgarity and toilet humor. The project is one of the hundred highest grossing films in the history of cinema. The picture was shot in 1982, when in Hollywood cinema there was still no fashion for all kinds of political correctness. Tutsi was an unprecedented success in the Soviet film distribution, although it was declared in the category of eccentric tapes. At the center of the story, an unemployed artist Michael Dorsey was forced to change into a successful star Julie Nichols to get a job in the soap opera. Like other comedies where men dress as women, Tootsie contains a certain challenge. The creators, one way or another, raised the problem of the relativity of sexual characteristics in the acting environment, and the leading actor Dustin Hoffman forever proved to others his professional suitability and unique ability to transform.
Get out, Tutsi - Mrs. Doutfire is coming
The inimitable actor Robin Williams always gravitated toward reincarnation, he loved to change his appearance in every way, to try different images. Prior to participating in the film “Mrs. Doutfire,” he had the experience of transforming into a woman: in the show, Andy Kaufman repeatedly portrayed his grandmother. Therefore, he did not miss his chance to play a major role in the film adaptation of the novel about an unemployed artist, who lost the right to see children every day after a divorce, so in order to continue living with them, he turned into a sedate British nanny and got a job with his ex-wife. At the same time, his makeup and performing skills are so good that the hero remains unrecognizable by both children and his wife.
Of course, this is a less believable story than “Only Girls in Jazz” and “Tootsie”, in which men also dress as women. The comedy of Chris Columbus is fantastic, but this did not stop Williams from getting the Golden Globe, and the make-up artist of the project - Oscar.
Difficult task
Comedian Martin Lawrence, became known to a wide audience after the success of the series of action films "Bad Guys". In 1999, the public was thrilled by the news that he, having lost consciousness, fell into a coma. The cause of the incident was exhaustion and increased stress. His condition was close to critical, the actor for several days was connected to a ventilator. But Lawrence soon got better and his condition stabilized. The reason for the blow was the filming process in the comedy action movie “The House of the Big Mom”. The fact is that the performer had to constantly be dressed in a heavy and airtight rubber suit. Martin thought that this would not be a problem, but the heat that fell on Los Angeles almost took his life. After that, talking about men who dress as women for the benefit of art in an disrespectful manner is definitely impossible.
In the early Soviet cinema
Soviet filmmakers also visited the idea of screen transformation. The history of Soviet cinema, even at the stage of the emergence of traditions, includes films where a man dresses as a woman. An example is many movie tales in which Georgy Millar repeatedly played the role of Baba Yaga. At the same time, more comical than a terrible old woman, dating back to the ancient archetype, in Soviet cinema is a relatively bright variety of travesty.
More vivid hypostases
More impressive projects in which a man changes into a woman are the tapes “Hello, I am your aunt!” (1975) and "Mary Poppins, Goodbye!" (1983).
In the first, Alexander Kalyagin plays a real rogue, acting as a millionaire aunt millionaire Donna Rosa de Alvadorets, the inconsolable widow of Don Pedra from Brazil, where there are many, many wild monkeys. The actor created a colorful image from the memories of his mother and aunt. The character turned out to be magnificent, and the film itself, which became a classic of Russian cinema, was "squandered" into quotes.
Oleg Tabakov created in the musical Mary Poppins, Goodbye! no less memorable image of the awful nanny of miss Andrew. In its execution, a hypertrophied feminine lady evokes genuine delight and produces an uniquely comic effect.
With serious intentions
In addition to the above-mentioned films, where a man dresses as a woman, it is worth mentioning the picture “Everything Is The Other Way” (1981), in which the hero of Mikhail Efremov puts on a woman’s wig and school uniform for girls to freely enter her young lover’s house under the pretext of studying English to be alone.
In an adventurous adventure drama, the character of Dmitry Kharatyan, a young graduate of a navigation school, dresses twice in a female outfit. The first time - participating in the production of a comic opera, the second - in order to pretend to be a cameraman of the main character and protect her from dangers, accompanying her during the trip.
“Ladies” in the movie “Only Girls Are in Jazz”, of course, are good, but they can never compare with the characters of the film “Gentlemen of Fortune”, beloved from childhood, inimitable E. Leonov, S. Kramarov and G. Vitsin turned into women there.
Tragicomedy and romcoms
“Breakfast on Pluto” is another film where a man turns into a woman. The story takes the viewer to the 60-70s, introduces the main character, a transvestite Patrick Braden, nicknamed Kitten. A witty, somewhat cynical, but very charming guy is the illegitimate offspring of a parish priest and his housekeeper. The kid was abandoned by his parents to their fate, his foster mother was engaged in his upbringing. Having matured, the young man leaves his native places and settles in London, where he successfully performs in a transvestite show. But one day, fate confronts him with his father.
A touching romantic story “A Girl from Denmark” introduces the viewer to one of the first known transgender people and his loving wife. One of the advantages of the picture is the lead actor - Eddie Redmayne. His extraordinary appearance ideally suited the character’s image, in its embodiment there is no plaque of comicism typical for performers playing women. Eddie is convincing as a woman even without surgical intervention, but naturally, with the help of professional make-up artists.
The film "New Girlfriend" is positioned as a romantic tragicomedy about the history of the relationship between bisexual and transvestite. By the way, there are not many colorful characters and humor in the film, the exception is the episode in which the main character first comes out to people in a dress, which leads to a series of funny and ridiculous situations.
The theme is not losing relevance
Naturally, the films listed in this publication do not exhaust the declared theme; the list of films can be continued for quite some time. Perhaps he will soon replenish with new masterpieces, because the theme of dressing men in women still inspires many directors, allowing you to touch on a much wider range of philosophical, moral and artistic issues.