Early in the film the newsreel said that Zelig didn't mimic women when placed next to them then later he does just that by becoming an expert flyer because he is next to Dr. Fletcher.
Ooops
Also he takes on the female doctor's personality during their discussions together which also contradicts this early statement.
Maybe he just can't mimic them physically?
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While he does mimic Dr. Fletcher, he mimics aspects of her that (at the time) would have been seen as masculine traits: doctor and pilot.
I always took the line about him not mimicing women as an excuse to not turn the movie into a cross-dressing comedy.
There's a difference between personality and physicality. It's not a flaw in the film.
Last film seen: Robert Bresson's Pickpocket - Brilliant!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053168/
how is that ooops?
it's a newsreel - they don't know what the heck they're talking about - they're just spouting out nonsense from some of the doctors (who mostly seemed wrong anyways).
Early on, Zelig had not been observed mimicking women, but that does not mean he is forever incapable of doing so.
And when he first mimics Fletcher, a while before the flying bit, the film attributes his ability to do so to his being highly familiar with her. So, in fact, the film addresses the matter and justifies Zelig's behavior, making it not an "oops" but a case of very clean writing.