People say that boys wear women's clothing either 0 times or countless times. For this remark, Oscar actor Dustin Hoffman may have a deep understanding. The actor has appeared in many classic movies such as "Rain Man", "The Cramers" and "The Graduate". However, this time we are going to talk about this 1982 movie-"Slim Lady". In this movie, Dustin Hoffman becomes a female gangster, triggering a series of ridiculous stories.
(one)
After I watched "The Fair Lady", I think this movie is quite interesting and the movie-watching experience is good. However, when I was just preparing to write a film review, I found it difficult to write. This contrast caused me to think.
Both the overall story structure and the detailed scenes in "Fall and Slender" are remarkable. Macroscopically, the structure of the three acts of "A Fair Lady" is quite clear. The first act quickly sets up the protagonist's image with concise lines and actions, making the audience realize that this is an arrogant, mean and talented actor. In only 20 minutes, the movie entered the second act. The protagonist's life in women's clothing quickly developed in a good direction, and then slowly declined, forcing the protagonist from all aspects. In the third act, the protagonist boldly takes off his wig before the live TV broadcast, revealing the truth about himself as a man. At the same time, the protagonist has also learned to care about others in this process, and is no longer the mean man.
In the detailed scenes, there is never a lack of dramatic tension. It is not that the yelling and flaring of the actor's teeth and claws are the tension of the drama, but that the conflicts are fierce. The protagonist wants this, and others want it, and they do not give in to each other, and the dialogue and movements of the two sides give people a sense of tug-of-war. This kind of dramatic tension runs through many scenes of "Fall and Beautiful". In short, the overall rhythm of "Fall and Fit" is relatively brisk, the lines are concise, and the plot development is not sloppy. To me, this kind of story design is quite beautiful.
In addition, whether it is inspiration or actor acting, "Slim and Fit" is also very good. Watching the actor Dustin Hoffman put on women's clothing, put on a wig, put on heavy makeup, and dangled his voice, turning into "another woman", it really made people feel very attractive and full of joy. He was forcibly kissed by an actor, was considered a homosexual by an actress, and even received a proposal ring from a middle-aged man. These encounters drive the protagonist crazy, but make the audience knowingly smile.
What's interesting is that "Skinny Man" is also very good at applying the "True Fragrance Law" to face slaps to increase the comedy of the movie. In the previous shot, the protagonist put forward certain plans in a sarcastic tone, implying that he would not do that; the next shot was the protagonist directly adopting those plans. In the previous scene, the protagonist laughed and said how difficult it is to bring a child; the next scene directly shows the protagonist facing the child with an expression of "I am too difficult". These scenes of "speed of light hitting the face" are also part of the movie's sense of comedy.
What makes people even more complimented is that Dustin Hoffman played three roles in "A Fairy Man", namely the protagonist himself, the woman played by the protagonist, and the TV drama role played by the woman played by the protagonist. It is not easy to play three roles. Dustin Hoffman also played the three roles with distinctive personalities and highly recognizable. From this point of view, it can be said that Dustin Hoffman's acting skills supported the entire movie, which is impressive.
(two)
Since "Slim Lady" has so many advantages above, why do I find it difficult to write? In fact, before I started thinking about this issue, I really didn't know how to criticize. The advantages mentioned above are real, not false or making up the word count, but they are obvious. As long as you have watched "Fall and Slender", you will inevitably praise the comedy, the interesting plot of the women's clothing, and the outstanding acting skills of the actors. Why should I criticize something so obvious? Why not just watch the movie? For this, I have to think more deeply.
First of all, for a large audience, "Slim and Fit" is not absolutely new. This type of drag story is not uncommon. Maybe "Slim and Fit" was a dazzling one in 1982, but it is indeed not unique now. I have watched a lot of cross-dressing stories before, such as movies such as "The Miss Is So White", "Beauty Agent", "Mr. Fat Mom" and so on. Read more, the routines of this kind of story are also familiar, and the novelty is less.
Of course, compared to most drag movies, the standard of "Slim Lady" is actually higher. In addition to the actor's drama, the theme of the story of "A Fair Lady" is also a little deeper. One of the obvious characteristics of drag movies is comedy, and sometimes even because of excessive emphasis on comedy, the characters are flattened and the depth of the story is also lacking.
When "Fall and Slender", in addition to paying attention to the growth and changes of the protagonist, the story also discusses the status of men and women when the men and women change their costumes. However, these discussions are mostly expressed in ironic details. For example, the director is picky about actresses, but the leading male actor can't even remember his lines; when the director calls the actor, he uses the word "baby" when calling the actress. These details can show that women are underestimated, but they are only limited to this. "Fair and Fit Men" has a brief taste on this topic without going too deep, and the problems of the status of men and women revealed are not painful.
The protagonist learns to be considerate of others while pretending to be a woman, but this growth is not only achieved by pretending to be a woman. "Man Hundred Percent" also allows the male chauvinist protagonist to learn to be considerate of others through a mind-reading magic. In the process of disguising a man into a woman's dress, it is not surprising that the protagonist did not make the protagonist go deeper into the female group. After all, the theme of the movie is to make a mean man learn to be considerate of others and give priority to comedy. In other words, "Slim Lady" emphasizes fun and comedy, and is not much different from the style of drag stories. Although there are traces of sublimation of the theme, it is more powerful than other movies of the same genre.
Secondly, the most commendable of "Slim Lady" is Dustin Hoffman's acting skills. After all, he is the actor, and his acting skills are really impeccable. But on the other hand, the actor of the drama also caused other supporting roles to be eclipsed. Not to mention the acting skills of the supporting actors, just say this script story, the portrayal of the supporting roles is far inferior to the protagonist. "Fall and Fit" focuses the shot too much on the protagonist, while the supporting role is somewhat reduced to the background.
Even the woman the protagonist falls in love with, it is difficult to see what charm she has besides being good-looking. You know, the protagonist in the end, in order to exchange his true feelings with his sincerity, he boldly took off the wig before the live TV broadcast and restored his male body. This means that he abandons fame, wealth, and career in exchange for the sincerity of his sweetheart. If the movie does not add some scenes to show the charm of this woman, then the final actions of the protagonist will be less convincing. In contrast, "Men Hundred Percent" uses a lot of shots to portray the heroine and make it attractive. Therefore, it is more reasonable for the hero to finally give up his career and choose the heroine.
Thirdly, the story design of "Slim Lady" is very concise and capable, which is very good, but it is not good at the turning point of the story. Looking back at the starting point of the protagonist, his acting skills are outstanding, but his terrible character offends all directors and producers. Therefore, he is still poor in his middle age and needs to make a living as a waiter. So, at the end of the story, when the protagonist decides to abandon his wealth, career prospects, and fame in exchange for a woman's sincerity, what risk does he take?
At first glance, the protagonist has lost a lot, but he does not have those things, and the final result will not be worse than the starting point. Looking at the whole story, the protagonist changes from a poor man to a poor man-this is not an ideal turning point. Life just returns to its original state, which makes his decision at climax less powerful, and the protagonist's love indirectly becomes cheap. In contrast, the protagonist of "Falling Water Marriage" gave up inheriting hundreds of millions of fortunes and only spent the rest of his life with the beloved woman. This climax action is obviously stronger than that of "Fair and Fit", and it can also reflect the "higher love price". theme.
Concluding remarks
Starting from a period of reflection, I once again experienced the joy of "discovering new perspectives" in the film review process. Undoubtedly, the story of "Slim Lady" is excellent, and the viewing experience is also very good. Moreover, the shortcomings I mentioned are not flaws. The growing protagonist, outstanding acting skills, and the comedy of a man disguised as a woman are enough to satisfy the audience. But if you move your attention away from these three points, you will find that there is still room for improvement in "Slim Lady".
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