YMMV / I Don't Want to Be a Man

• Adorkable: Ossi (the character.) While she looks quite good in a suit, it soon becomes apparent that she really has no idea of how to act at a fancy party, and that she isn't much of a dancer...
• Ambiguously Bi:
  • Dr. Kerster , who starts making out with Ossi before he learns that she's a girl. There is also the fact that his servant doesn't seem to be the least bit surprised to find a (seemingly) young man in his bed...
  • Ossi herself also flirts with a few women at the club. While this may have just been to blend in, (and in the case of Dr. Kersten's date, trying to make him jealous) this isn't outright stated. On the other hand, she is frightened by her Unwanted Harem of dancers, but they were being quite wild.
  • For that matter, is Kersten's date also convinced that Ossi is a man? Or is she perfectly fine with the idea of spending the evening with a dapper woman in a suit? The same question applies to the aforementioned Unwanted Harem.
• Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The Cutaway Gag showing Counselor Brockmüller suffering from sea sickness in his cabin, which is also the last time we see him in the film. It almost seems like Lubitsch put it in there just to test a camera technique.
• Fair for Its Day: The film is still considered quite entertaining today, but its plot is seen as fairly simple and cliche, while also not exploring its themes as much as later, similar movies would do. That said, several modern viewers are impressed that they got away with making it at all back in 1918.
• Heartwarming Moments:
  • It's quickly established that Ossi doesn't get along well with her uncle, but once she hears that his business is going great she actually seems to be happy for him, and they part on good terms before he leaves the country. (Sure, them not having to deal with each other for a while may have played a part in it, but they were kind of driving each other mad, and getting a break from one-another may actually be good for both of them.)
  • When Ossi panics after waking up in an unfamiliar house, Dr. Kersten's servant gives her a handkerchief to wipe away her tears with before handing her "her" coat and getting her on her way home. He never complains about her not acting like her apparent gender, either. He just treats her as a heartbroken, lost person who needs some help and comfort.
• LGBT Fan Base: Arguably an Intended Audience Reaction. It's a movie which defies gender stereotypes , stars a (at the time) popular, good-looking comedy actress as a fairly sympathetic crossdresser (dressed in a fancy suit), and contains quite a bit of Homoerotic Subtext.
• Signature Scene: Arguably The Big Damn Kiss at the club.
• Strawman Has a Point: Ossi's guardians are treated like a pair of "Stop Having Fun" Guys for complaining about her wild behavior and her drinking, but they are right in that she's being a bit of a nuisance, (she likes to loudly cause a ruckus just for the fun of it), and she is drinking more than she can actually stomach (several complications towards the end of the film happen because she's too drunk to think rationally.) Granted, they are not doing that great of a great job of getting the point across, and they are just as bad themselves when it comes to substance abuse.
• Values Dissonance:
  • You would probably be hard-pressed to find a modern movie which treated a girl and her legal guardian falling in love as a sort-of sweet ending. (Granted, Dr. Kersten only served as such for about two and a half minutes before meeting Ossi again under different circumstances without recognizing her, and the movie tries to avoid having it be the usual Unequal Pairing by making their final kiss the moment where Ossi stops letting Kersten control her and instead starts controlling him.)
  • Another thing to consider is the age difference. There was a gap of about ten years between the actors and possibly a larger one between the characters. While it's not entirely clear how old Ossi is meant to be, the fact that Kersten never asks how old she is could be a case in and of itself.
• Values Resonance:
  • The movie can be seen as a scathing critique of the strict gender norms in the early 20th century. Having tried to be both a Proper Lady and Sharp-Dressed Man, Ossi feels that both of the personas are mostly just a set of rules you have to follow, and decides to become a more mature version of her own ladette self instead.
  • Ossi and Dr. Kersten are both Ambiguously Bi to a certain extent, but the movie doesn't treat them any worse for this. Keep in mind that homosexuality was still illegal in Germany at the time.

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