History Film / Sam

''Film/{{Sam}}'' is a bit of ''Film/GoodbyeCharlie'' mixed with ''Film/MissCongeniality''.

* BookOnTheHead: Blondell trains Samantha to walk with a book on her head to improve her posture as part of her GirlinessUpgrade. Blondell himself demonstrates this for her, and is much better at it than her (at first).
* CampGay: Blondell (albeit a more subdued version). He's a gay man who's very sophisticated, with vast knowledge of stereotypical feminine behavior (he trains women how to act that way).

* FirstPeriodPanic: When Sam experiences his first period after undergoing his GenderBender, he assumes that he is hemorrhaging. It is up to his best friend Doc, who is a gynecologist, to explain what is happening.

* JerkToNiceGuyPlot: In a variation, Sam is a HeManWomanHater who begins his journey to being a nicer person when he suffers a KarmicTransformation [[GenderBender into a woman]]. He slowly goes from a woman-hating HandsomeLech to being the sweet-natured, thoughtful young woman Samantha genuinely in love with someone. [[spoiler: She ends up choosing to stay as a woman, having both fallen in love with Doc and grown to like being a woman for its own sake.]]

* GenderBenderAngst: Sam is a HeManWomanHater who undergoes extreme angst after being transformed into a woman. She even considers undergoing gender reassignment surgery to become male again (an option that's almost never mentioned in most GenderBender works) but ultimately decides against it. [[spoiler:She gest over this and when offered a chance to change back, declines it, staying female]].

* ColorMeBlack: Sam is [[HeManWomanHater hateful misogynist]] who makes a drunken rant about the uselessness of women to the proprietor of TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. The next morning, he wakes up to discover that he is now female.

* FirstLawOfGenderBending: Once the change happens Sam seems to be stuck as Samantha: the shop has vanished into thin air and there is no other way back. Samantha does consider gender reassignment surgery but after Doc reveals what that would actually involve she's sufficently shaken to decide against, at least for now. [[spoiler: Eventually the shop does return and Samantha is offered the chance to go back to being male. She turns it down.]]

* ForgotToMindTheirHead: Samantha is hiding under desk with Margaret when her boss Seymour sticks his head under the desk. Samantha sits up suddenly and bangs her head on the underside of the desk.

* GenderBenderAngst: Sam is a HeManWomanHater who undergoes extreme angst after being transformed into a woman. She even considers undergoing gender reassignment surgery to become male again (an option that's almost never mentioned in most GenderBender works).

* StagParty: At the start of the film, the misogynistic Sam attends his friend Steve's bachelor party. He leaves the party drunk and angry and ranting about women when he stumbles into TheLittleShoptThatWasntThereYesterday and his problems really start.

-->'''Samantha:''' Oh, he's not my boyfriend.
-->'''Doc:''' I'm ''not'' her boyfriend.
-->'''Blondell:''' [[DeadpanSnarker They both said, rather loudly...]]

* BisexualLoveTriangle: Of sorts. Doc finds himself in the middle of a love triangle between hsi girlfriend Cynthia and his new love interest Sam (who is actually a man transformed into a woman but reciprocates Doc's feelings).

* IfItsYouItsOkay: After being transformed into a woman, Sam/Samantha never considered himself to be gay but falls in love with Doc and chooses to stay as a woman.

Sam (Brock Harris) is a womanizer with a real chip on his shoulder about women in general and his best friend Doc's (Sean Kleier) fiancee in particular. After leaving a bachelor party drunk and angry, Sam stumbles into 'Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe'. The shopkeeper (Creator/StacyKeach) listens to Sam complain about women, and after expressing disapproval of Sam's misogyny offers him a mysterious drink. The next day, Sam wakes up as a beautiful woman (Natalie Knepp). "Samantha", as Sam now calls herself is forced to live as a woman and pretending to be her male self's cousin until she can find a way back...

* BegoneBribe: Cynthia cements her role as a bitch by offering to write Samantha a cheque for whatever she wants if she leaves and never sees Doc again.
* BookOnTheHead: Blondell trains Samantha to walk with a book on her head to improve her posture as part of her GirlinessUpgrade. Blondell himself demonstrates this for her, and is much better at than her (at first).
* CampGay: Blondell (albeit a more subdued version).

* CharacterDevelopment: Sam/Samantha slowly goes from an woman-hating HandsomeLech to sweet natured, thoughtful young woman genuinely in love with someone [[spoiler: who ends up choosing to stay as a woman, having both fallen in love with Doc and grown to like being a woman for its own sake.]]
* ClosetKey: Doc for Sam/Samantha post-transformation.
* ColorMeBlack: Sam is [[HeManWomanHater hateful misogynist]] who makes a drunken rant about the uselessness of women to the proprietor of TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday. The next morning, he wakes up to discover that he is now a she.

* FirstPeriodPanic: When Sam experiences his first period after undergoing his GenderBender, he assumes that he is haemorrhaging. It is up to his best friend Doc, who is a gynaecologist, to explain what is happening.

** FirstLawOfGenderBending: Once the change happens Sam seems to be stuck as Samantha: the shop has vanished into thin air and there is no other way back. Samantha does consider gender reassignment surgery but after Doc reveals what that would actually involve she's sufficently shaken to decide against, at least for now. [[spoiler: Eventually the shop does return and Samantha is offered the chance to go back to being male.]]

* HeelRealization: Samantha. About half way through the film Margaret has a conversation with Samantha about her crush on Sam (having no idea that Samantha and her 'cousin' are the same person). What provokes Samantha to feel so guilty is not that Margaret is complaining about Sam's jerkishness, but actually the ''reverse'', that she misread his insensitive behaviour as being a facade, when Samantha knows full well it was really just insensitivity.

* JerkToNiceGuyPlot: In a variation, Sam is a HeManWomanHater who begins his journey to being a nicer person when he suffers a KarmicTransformation [[GenderBender into a woman]].

* TheLadette: Initially Samantha is this, acting like the slob she was as a male and dressing in whatever casual clothes she can find. After spending a couple of weeks getting GirlinessUpgrade from a fashion and style consultant she becomes much more feminine in dress and manner but is still happy to throw around a football.
* LessonsInSophistication: When Sam undergoes his GenderBender, he has no idea how to act as a woman and so comes across as TheLadette. Although his boss is pleased with 'Samantha''s performance, he decides that she cannot meet with clients with her current standards of dress and manners and sends her to Blondell for training in how to be more ladylike.

* LoveTriangle: Samantha/Doc/Cynthia.

* MistakenForGay: Cynthia briefly suspects that Doc is actually gay and is attracted to his childhood friend, Sam. She's only half wrong.
* MoodWhiplash: The first fifteen minutes or so before Sam arrives at 'Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe' are noticably darker with Sam played as an unrepentant {{Jerkass}} misogynist. After he turns into Samantha the story becomes much lighter and more comedic Samantha is played more as a JerkWithAHeartOfGold even before her CharacterDevelopment.
* NecktieHeadband: Steve is wearing his necktie as headband by the end of his StagParty.

* OneWordTitle
* PluckyOfficeGirl: Margaret mixed with a dose of HypercompetentSidekick. She does a lot of work both Sam and his boss take credit for all the while nursing a hopeless crush on Sam. After Sam becomes a woman, 'Samantha' strikes up a genuine friendship with Margaret and feels a lot of guilt for taking advantage of her for so long. [[spoiler: Later after a successful report Samantha and Margaret both work on Samantha persuades her boss to give the promotion to Margaret.]]
* ProtagonistTitle
* RelativelyFlimsyExcuse: After experiencing a GenderBender, Sam poses as his cousin 'Samantha'.

* SingleTargetSexuality: Explicit in Samantha's case. After becoming a woman, she finds she no longer has any sexual interest in women; but she is also still sexually uninterested in men. That is, until she finds herself becoming attracted to Doc - after which point, Doc is the only person who inspires any arousal in her whatsoever.

* TheyCallMeMisterTibbs: Alexander Blondell insists that his clients address him as Mr. Blondell. Sam's repeated attempts to refer to him as 'pal, 'buddy' or even 'Alexander' are met with a polite but firm correction:

* IfItsYouItsOkay: After being transformed into a woman, Sam never considered himself to be gay but falls in love with Doc and chooses to stay as a woman.

* HeelRealization: Samantha gets hit hard by this. About half way through the film Margaret has a conversation with Samantha about her crush on Sam (having no idea that Samantha and her 'cousin' are the same person.) What provokes Samantha to feel so guilty is not that Margaret is complaining about Sam's jerkishness, but actually the ''reverse'', that she misread his insensitive behaviour as being a [[JerkassFacade facade]], when Samantha knows full well it was really just insensitivity.

* LessonsInSophistication: When Sam undergoes his GenderBender, he has no idea how to act as a woman and so comes across as TheLadette. Although his boss is pleased with 'Samantha''s performance, decides that she cannot meet with clients with her current standards of dress and manners and sends her to Blondell for training in how to be more ladylike.

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe is a classic example complete with enigmatic shopkeeper. An offhand reference hints he may be an angel but his identity is never confirmed.

* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: Ye Olde Curiosity Shoppe is a classic example complete with enigmatic shopmaker. An offhand reference hints he may be an angel but his identity is never confirmed.