Thursday Movie Picks: Fake Identity: Wandering through the Shelves hosts a weekly movie challenge in which you choose 3-5 movies based on that Thursday’s theme and explain why you chose those movies. Today’s theme is Fake Identity, so here are my choices!
tootsie (1982)
I have not yet seen Tootsie, although I certainly plan to! I’ve been reading a book on screenplays, and Tootsie happened to be one of the movies the book examines, so I know the gist of what the movie is about. Michael (Dustin Hoffman) is an actor who can’t seem to land a job.
So he reinvents himself as a woman, auditions for a soap opera, and lands the role. Of course, things start to spiral out of control from there as Michael has to maintain two identities even as he falls in love with a beautiful actress… whose father falls in love with him/her! This seemed like a pretty good choice for this theme, as it seems to be a classic.
never been kissed (1999)
Josie Geller wants to be an investigative journalist, so she dresses up as a high school student to research teenage culture. Her brother Rob decides to join her, and with his help, she befriends the popular crowd and gathers the right amount of information for her article. But complications arise when Josie falls for her English teacher, who does not know his student is a 25-year-old reporter.
while you were sleeping (1995)
Lucy Moderatz is in love with Peter from afar. When he gets mugged at the train station where she works, Lucy saves his life, though he ends up in a coma. After a misunderstanding between Lucy and the attending nurse, Lucy is mistaken for Peter’s fiancée and is quickly embraced by Peter’s blue-collar family, including his brother Jack. Lucy, whose father has passed away, goes along with the ruse but knows she will have to eventually come clean… especially when Peter wakes up. While You Were Sleeping has always been one of my favorite romantic comedies, and I absolutely love how one moment changes Lucy’s life forever.
Brittani
March 18, 2021Never Been Kissed is one of my favorite rom coms of all time. I adore that movie. I haven’t seen the other two you picked.
Sara
March 18, 2021I haven’t seen it in so long! But obviously, I plan to rewatch it soon!
Joel
March 18, 2021Tootsie!!!! How did I not think of that? It’s a perfect fit. A real charmer of a picture with wonderful work by all even down to the smallest parts. It’s really Dustin Hoffman though who makes it all work with his commitment to making Dorothy a multi-dimensional person in her own right.
The premise of While You Were Sleeping is absurd but the cast’s skillful playing puts it over. Everyone is terrific but I have a special affection for Glynis Johns’ dotty grandmother.
Never Been Kissed is the lesser of the three though still enjoyable. Drew looks young but a high school student is a bit of a stretch, not as much as her brother however!
I went with three that look at the theme in slightly different aspects.
This Side of the Law (1950)-Picked up on a vagrancy charge wanderer David Cummins (Kent Smith) is bailed out by lawyer Philip Cagle (Robert Douglas) because he bears a remarkable resemblance to multi-millionaire Malcolm Taylor. As it happens Taylor is about to be declared dead after having gone missing seven years hence, if David will assume Taylor’s identity and convince his estranged family-wife Evelyn (Viveca Lindfors), brother Calder (John Alvin) and sister-in-law Nadine (Janis Paige)-that he is truly the missing man Cagle will pay him five thousand dollars. What seems like easy money quickly spirals into a web of deception and murder.
The Man Who Never Was (1956)-During WWII as Britain mobilizes to invade Sicily, intelligence agent Ewen Montagu (Clifton Webb) conceives a diversionary scheme to lead Germany to believe the true target is Greece. Creating the false identity of Major William Martin for a young man with no family who recently died of pneumonia (giving the appearance of drowning) Montagu plants phony top secret documents on the body and arranges for it to wash ashore in Spain. While Hitler believes the information German undercover agent Patrick O’Reilly (Stephen Boyd) is skeptical. His suspicions risk exposing the deception.
The Great Imposter (1961)-Young Ferdinand Demara Jr. (Tony Curtis) quits high school to join the Army with hopes of becoming an officer but finds his lack of education stands in his way. His solution is to fake papers as an officer in the Marines but eventually his lie is detected. On the run he assumes the identity of a Trappist monk. In time though he again must flee and as the years pass Demara impersonates a sailor, prison warden, teacher and doctor as his journeys take him around the globe. This is based on a true story.
Sara
March 21, 2021I’ve never seen these but I’ve heard of The Great Imposter! The Side of the Law sounds really interesting too.
Wandering through the Shelves
March 19, 2021I’ve seen all of them.
Never Been Kissed is my favourite too. It is so cute.
Sara
March 21, 2021I haven’t seen NBK in so long! But the DVD is waiting on my entertainment center, so I should be watching it soon.
Katy
March 19, 2021Nice picks! I can’t believe I didn’t think of Tootsie. It’s a such a fun movie, despite the premise that might put some people off. Dustin Hoffman is hilarious. I like your other picks too! We have Sandy in common for the theme this week.
Sara
March 21, 2021I really need to watch Tootsie!
Cinematic Delights
March 20, 2021Tootsie is new to me (it sounds very fun!) but excellent picks with Never Been Kissed and While You Were Sleeping. I have a big soft spot for the latter.
Sara
March 21, 2021I really love WYWS too! I watch it all the time.
Birgit
March 21, 2021Tootsie is great and I so enjoyed it even with Dustin Hoffman being so…so Dustin during the awards shows. I like Never Been Kissed which I found nice and not having to think. Funny that it was picked last week for not standing up to time. The last film is a fun one as well and started Sandra off on her romantic comedy adventures.
Allie
March 23, 2021I haven’t seen any of these! But thank you for reminding me about Tootsie – I’ve heard great things about it and I definitely want to watch it 🙂
Kat Impossible
March 25, 2021Ooooh, I love that you mentioned While You Were Sleeping! Lucy was so wrong for pretending, but at the same time, I dig that movie so much and am more willing to forgive stuff like that haha
Sara
March 25, 2021Yes, WYWS is one of those movies that would be near impossible to make in 2021! But I think Bullock played Lucy with the right amount of charm and sympathy that it was easy to forgive the deceit.
thepunktheory
March 26, 2021Oh Never Been Kissed. I remember liking it when I first watched it. But now it just rubs me the wrong way. 🙈
Sara
March 27, 2021Yes, there are some problems with Never Been Kissed for sure!