“The people you are about to meet may shock you. They may frighten you. But we hope that by this factual exposition, we can broaden your view toward this kind of individual.” Yes, kiddies, there’s nothing that says you’ve stepped off the polite path of mainstream filmmaking better than plunging headfirst into the cult quicksand of transvestite cinema. And She-Man, a cross-dressing mini-classick subtitled A Story of Fixation, proudly belongs in every gender-bending library alongside Glen or Glenda, The Christine Jorgensen Story, Dinah East, and Let Me Die a Woman.
“File Number 713” is the story of Albert Rose (LESLIE MARLOW), an “aggressive, athletic, father-dominated, playboy-ish, affluent young man” who, by all outward appearances, is “a normal American male” -- until he puts on his first brassiere. Of course, getting him to put one on requires a wee bit of coercion, namely Dominita (DORIAN WAYNE), a scary dominatrix with a Big Surprise that should be obvious to any viewer with eyes. Miss Dominita has some phony evidence that Albert was a deserter during the Korean war and, despite the claim being bogus, Albert agrees to pay her price: $20,000 plus “a year of Albert’s life.” In servitude. As a maid. (Did somebody really say “factual exposition”?) Whisked to Dominita’s Florida home – where most of her also-blackmailed staff are women dressed as men – Albert is put into “The Transformation Room” where his face is painted, his body is padded, and a “woman” named Rose is born. All of which gets pretty funny pretty fast. To be blunt, Albert is one of the dowdiest, most unglamorous dolls ever in a dress. Think of your annoying Aunt Ethel or Big Martha down at the nail salon – that’s Albert in drag.
And, sure enough, the big lug likes it! He also falls in love with Ruth, Dominita’s lesbian secretary, who prefers him as a her. The two lovebirds eventually scheme against Dominita, dramatically reveal her hilarious (non)secret and... well... it all gets summed up by an unpleasant-looking doctor who seems to be on the verge of a stroke: “We can only hope that in time we can acquaint and educate ourselves to accept the afflictions of our fellow man in a compassionate and understanding way.” Ha!
Taken from Something Weird Video
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