Lithgow as Roberta was amazing


I remember seeing this as an 18-year-old and really being moved/affected by his portrayal of her. And also, as for the character herself, by Garp's and the family's complete acceptance of her. I thought that was unprecedented for the early eighties. Bravo.





I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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[deleted]

Really? Did you see it before or after? Did he, ahem, inspire you?





I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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[deleted]

While I did like John Lithgow as "Roberta", like so many of the other deviations from the book, this wasn't entirely satisfactory. Irving in the book makes it clear that Roberta actually became very feminine (and even had an affair with Garp's womanizing publisher), only bigger and stronger than most women. Kind of like Patrick Swayze managed to pull off in "To Wong Foo...", which is closer to MY ideas about Roberta.

But hey, it's a long-done deal already, and Lithgow did deserve the accolades he earned. He's a quality performer, no doubt of that.

"Shake me up, Judy!"

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I saw this movie probably way too young, especially since I didn't understand much of the adult situations. But Robin Williams was one of my favorite actors as a kid, being in Mork and Mindy,and then of course as Popeye, so I liked the movie because of him. But now that I'm older I appreciate much of what the film had to offer, and I actually think Lithgow made this movie. He was brilliant as Roberta, and probably the most endeared character in the movie. And I think someone had mentioned how well he portrayed her, and how taboo a subject that was in the 80's.

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This has nothing to do with the movie, I'm just curious about transgender. My sister used to be married to a man who "came out" (pardon if not the correct term) He didn't tell her until after they had adopted a child and then he got upset when my sister didn't stay married to him. I can understand the fear that he might lose her, but I can't understand why he didn't tell her before they got involved. He's making the same mistake with his (post-surgery) boyfriends and when he finally tells them, they wait a couple of months and then dump him. He told the last boyfriend while my niece was there for the summer (She's 9yrs.old) I'm not a violent person, but I worry for my niece's safety if one of his boyfriends is a violent person and doesn't like the fact that he hasn't been informed of the situation prior to any sexual acts taking place. Also, I know that he is a she now but it's hard to think of him as a her after knowing her as a him for so long. I am not intending to offend anyone with this post. I watch the talk shows about trans-gender to try to understand it better, but that is the one thing I am having a hard time with. Why not tell the significant other and let them decide before they become emotionally invested. If that person choses to leave the relationship, then they're not worth it anyway. And, even though it may not seem like it, it hurts less in the long run.

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[deleted]

Well, we will just have to agree to disagree. You have your beliefs and I have mine. But it is LYING by omission if you dont come clean about who you used to be. This applies to ANYONE, by the way, not just this situation.

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No, I don't think he is delusional...I think he lied so he could get want he wanted without regard to what it would do to my sister. I FEEL he was very selfish. He didn't care what it would do to my sister and he doesn't care what it does to his adopted daughter and he is still lying by omission up until the point that he tells these men that he is trans-gendered. I have nothing against trans-gendered persons at all. I do however have a problem with my
ex-ex-brother-in-law. He MARRIED my sister without telling her about this! She deserved, as does everyone else, to make the decision about accepting or not accepting this person. How cruel is that to marry a heterosexual female and then expect her to accept this 8 years into the marriage and then he told her AFTER they adopted their daughter, thinking that my sister wouldn't leave because of the child. This is inexcusable. I understand the need to be loved and accepted. My own husband lied about wanting to have children before we were married and then after we had waited the agreed upon waiting period (1 year) I started planning for a pregnancy and baby. My husband kept dragging his feet on the subject and then he finally blew up saying he didn't ever want children...he had lied so "he wouldn't lose me". We found out a week after he did this, that I was 6 weeks pregnant. He loves his son very much and wanted another child when our first one was only 3 months. Thank God, our situation worked itself out...with GOD's help. We now have 2 sons. According to our religious beliefs, I could have gotten an annulment because he lied. My sister did get an annulment because her ex lied. Trans-gender is not an excuse to lie. There is no excuse to lie. My sister's ex is blaming her for the divorce and annulment. It's not my sister's doing that her ex is transgendered. It's her ex's doing that he chose not to be forthright BEFORE marriage and BEFORE the adoption. Think of all the heart ache it would have prevented not only for my sister but for her ex.

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[deleted]

so because my sister's ex was hurting that gave him the right to hurt someone else. NO! If he was hurting he should have seen a doctor...whatever kind of doctor that could handle it, and dealt with it that way FIRST. Doctors are paid to deal with these issues. Regardless of the pain, the torture, the whatever he was going through... his thoughtlessness hurt other people that I love. I
liked him before I saw what he did to my sister. My SISTER is the victim here, not him. And I will continue to refer to him as a him until his DNA proves him to be a woman and then only if I get it straight from God that he is now a she.
I'm not stating this about other trans-gendered persons. To each his own, unless it destroys other peoples' lives...which it did!

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[deleted]

Okay...let's make this perfectly clear. I am not hurt and I don't have any pain that needs to heal. I understand why my sister's ex had to transition, what I find cruel on my ex- in-law's part is that this didn't have to happen at all. My sister could have been told the truth from the beginning and made the decision herself as to whether to pursue a relationship with this person. My ex-in-law is involved with another man and has been for almost a year. Once again, the ex is not telling the truth about the past and has his daughter lying and not in communication with my sister when the new boyfriend is around because the ex-in-law lied and said that my niece's "FATHER" lives here. So now the ex is lying about my sister's gender also. I guess the ex-in-law also has a genetic malfunction that makes him a liar. I guess he needs to start a telethon for this awful,awful disorder. (The lying disorder...not the transgender issue.)

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No, I don't think he is delusional...I think he lied so he could get what he wanted without regard to what it would do to my sister. I FEEL he was very selfish.

I can agree with you - and feel for your sisters situation. I'm a transsexual myself, but unlike your ex-brother-in-law, I made the transition in my late teens (I'm 48 now). I had always been effeminate and everyone always "knew" about my situation, so I was never in that sort of 'deceiving' mode with anyone. I'm still not.

I think your ex-brother-in-law is probably what is known as an autogynephilic transsexual. Someone who started out by getting turned-on by seeing themselves as a female. I was once friends with a transsexual who was like this: she'd been married for 30 years and had 2 sons. Then one day she just sprung this on her wife and kids. Then she was surprised (if you can believe it) when they didn't openly accept it. She even slightly badmouthed one of her sons to me for not returning her phone calls or letters (he obviously wanted nothing to do with her). Apparently, she felt he was supposed to jump for joy his dad was wearing make-up and dresses, and then at 50-years-old, announcing he wanted to be a female. The funny thing is, she did tell me when we first met (she was still living as a male then) that she felt like she was a heterosexual crossdresser who became sexually-aroused while wearing fem attire. I'm not exactly sure when it set in with her that she was actually a female trapped in the wrong body.

"Sorry honey, I didn't recognize you with your clothes on." Christine Jorgensen R.I.P.

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Yes it was! I came here specifically to post about his portrayal. It was amazing! I've seen this movie a few times and I am moved by Lithgow's performance everytime.

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Its on some station right now, and I can't get over how good Lithgow is. I've seen the movie a few times over the years, and always thought the book was better (cliche alert!), but Roberta is a great character.

Deserves all the praise he got for this role.

Proud 17'er

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Roberta was my favorite. Loved her.

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[deleted]

Well said, bearheart.




I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.

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I love how Roberta protects Garp from the crazy driver. So motherly!



the universe...is indifferent

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I thought John Lithgow deserved the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for that role, it was a role that in past generations would have typecast him or hurt his career, but I think Hollywood wasn't ready to reward such a risky role with an Oscar. He was really the first GLBT character in a mainstream movie who wasn't campy or a psychotic murderer. In 1982 there was still a huge social stigma towards the transgendered, and I think the Roberta character did a lot to help break down that barrier. Lithgow is an incredible actor (wish he did more feature films) but this was the best role of his career.

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Lithgow stole the show, he was absolutely incredible as Roberta. One of the best performances I've seen.

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The memories of a man in his old age are the deeds of a man in his prime

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I fell in love with John Lithgow in this movie and have been a fan ever since! And I know when he shuffles off this mortal coil, I will automatically think, "Old #90 dropped the ball..."

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