1967 Valley of the Dolls film

[ZeldaFighter]

"Why can't a woman be more like a man?" waiIs one of the male characters. I believe he was a repressed, closeted gay man.

I watched it years ago as my (then new) boyfriend liked it. I now think he simply enjoyed the preponderance of large-breastfed women.

The line stayed with me. It puzzled me as surely not being men was what men liked about women. Then 90s ladette culture had girls who shagged, drank and watched football like boys. Then MTF trans people being much better "women" with their lack of periods or menopause, better sporting performance, male interests etc

Same behaviour, different decades? Interested to hear any thoughts.

That's the one. I could remember Almodovar, but wasn't 100% sure it was one of his. Banderas i completely blanked on.

Love Valley of the Dolls - Patty Duke-Austin.

It was Antonio's dead wife that the rapist was transformed into. Antonio's brother (in the film) was dressed a tiger and thought that the transwoman actually was the dead wife, which confused him, because IIRC he had something to do with the wife's death. Sex still happened, of course. I think the transwoman ended up happy because the woman he had been in love with before being captured was a lesbian and now they could be together.

Of course, pre (forced) transition the rapist is played by a man, and afterwords by a woman.

The book (Tarantula) is meant to be even more depraved, but I have not read it.

Fgs. So somebody first wrote this crap. Then some other idiot published it and then an even worse idiot made a bloody film of it?

I am now ready to resign from the human race. 🙄

Written by a man.

When I saw the film, I was pleased that I realised that the patient and the rapist were the same person due to the ripped fabric. Both the patient and the rapist would rip clothes and then create things from the ripped pieces. I had not heard about AGP at that time. The story makes a lot more sense now.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11367816-tarantula?fromsearch=true&fromsrp=true&qid=xLdAzKCy7P&rank=7

ETA - I can't imagine what a transwidow would make of it, but I suspect that many of the themes would feel very familiar in the worst ways.

No, he made the kidnapped man look like his deceased wife, and that is why he wanted a relationship with the person.

His wife burned to death in a car accident? And he invented a burn-proof skin that he tested on the kidnapped man.

It's an excellent film, it's one that makes you think, particularly around the fantastical element in this film. There are no easy answers.

Pedro Almodovor films are morally complex films. Much better than the straight-forward moralising you get in Hollywood and British films.