I Don't Want To Be A Man (1918) :
Brief Review -
A memorable pair of Lubitsch and Oswalda introduces another freakishly brilliant idea- A Gender Bending Comedy. Remember Billy Wilder's Classic Comedy 'Some Like It Hot' (1959) which is apparently cited as the First Gender bending comedy? Two good looking men play beautiful Women in that film, right? Now taking you 40 years back in Silent Era when Lubitsch introduced a Gender Bending Comedy in world cinema. Yes, that's right but hardly few people know about it and i am joining the list of those few people from today. Now just imagine the gender bending stuff with opposite gender. A woman plays a Man. Sounds freakish, aint it? And it also sounds brilliant and pathbreaking at same time, no? Well, that's what I Don't Want To Be A Man is. A teenaged tomboy girl, tired of being bossed around by her strict guardian, impersonates a man so she can have more fun, but discovers that being the opposite sex isn't as easy as she had hoped. Ossi Oswalda does an unbelievable stuff here. OMG, she looked so handsome as a man. How did she manage it? I mean the looks can be understood but that attitude and impersonation of the character was highly appalling. As a cherry on the top it creates a sounding love story out of it without changing the main course of the genders. Fabulous thinking power it was. Oswalda and Lubitsch made aother innovative comedy like The Doll in 1919 and this was an year before it which proves that this pair was so dared with their choices and maverick nature. I enjoyed the film thoroughly and i also found it very interesting as a script. The comedy is good, not great though. It could have been more but i guess the situational bounding stopped it at many places. Without those hurdles Lubitsch could have easily brought more laughter but not conviction so anyhow it was Great in its original form only. A fine watch anytime, anyday.
RATING - 7/10*
By - #samthebestest.