TOOTSIE (1982)

Neha says

8 reasons why you should see Sidney Pollack’s 1982 drag comedy Tootsie that was voted as the second funniest American movie of all time by the AFI…

REASON # 1- Dustin Hoffman is a class act and while he plays a character Michael Dorsey quite like himself – “ a method actor” he also plays a female character Dorothy Michaels a.k.a. Tootsie quite unlike himself. His timing, energy and the nuances he brings to both his characters has you glued. In fact he is so convincing as a woman that I even forgot that it’s a man playing the part. You simply applaud his emotional commitment to his Mrs. Doubtfire- Dorothy Michaels.

REASON # 2- For a good comedy you need a fun premise and Tootsie milks its mad premise for all its worth without getting gimmicky or resorting to cheap laughs. What if a man parading as a woman to get a job on a soap opera falls in love with his female co-actor Julie (Jessica Lange) whose father Les (Charles Durning) falls in love with her/him? What a crazy pickle!!!

REASON # 3 -- Larry Gelbart’s script is a winner. While a comedy of errors is par for the course, Tootsie has a real story to back its fun premise. First we meet Michael Dorsey, an out of work actor whose perfectionism is misconstrued for an attitude problem. When his girlfriend Sandy (Terrie Garr) is rejected for the part of a female nurse on a daily soap opera Michael believes it’s his dream role. He auditions for the part, gets it and begins to live, eat, breathe Dorothy Michaels on and off the camera. While his female co-star thinks of her/him as a good female friend, he/her develops feelings for her. But in the process of being a woman he also develops a sensitivity and an understanding for the gender stereotyping that women have to contend with. When Julie’s father falls in love with her/him things get complicated. In a weak moment Dorothy tries to kiss Julie, Julie thinks she/he is gay and the film without loosing its focus even addresses homosexuality in the 80’s as well. Why does power make a woman feel masculine? Why should a woman be given derogatory nick-names like Tootsie i.e. darling while the same doesn’t hold for men? What are the subtle motivations that triggered the battle of the sexes? The film tackles all of this but doesn’t loose its primary goal of being an entertaining, breezy and sharp drag comedy.

REASON # 4- What sublime comedy!!! Be it the scenes with Michael Dorsey/ Dorothy Michaels with his/her agent played by director Sydney Pollack himself or all those hilarious comic moments that have her/his male co-actor and Julie’s father, Les making a pass at him/her. Wonderfully witty and unforced with memorable punch lines that are a byproduct of set-up and arise out of a heated discussion or an uncomfortable moment. Add to that the comic timing of its talent and the way in which they draw from each other’s energies without overcooking a gag moment and what we have are real comic sequences that we could anticipate happening to anyone in such a messy situation.
REASON # 5- Director Sydney Pollack needs no introduction but with his own unique style he brings a skillful tautness to the comedy and compassion to the relationships that emerge out of Hoffman’s “man in dress” farce.
REASON # 6- A great supporting cast as well. Bill Murray, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Geena Davis do their bits to complement the tour de force Dustin Hoffman.
REASON # 7- Even in the mask of a comedy, if there is a small little message in there then I like to give movies like these a brownie point. Michael was all “yang” before this “female experience” post which he had a better balance of yin and yang. His female counterpart is all “yin” but a single mother and bread earner of the family makes her nurture the yang in her. All of this yin/yang business is wonderfully summarized by Michael when he says “I was a better man with you as woman than I ever was with a woman as a man, you know what I mean?” It’s one of the most poignant and revealing comic moments that defines this film.
REASON #8- Tight, sharp and well paced, Tootsie has an infectious charm and confidence to it that never lets up. I’m still chuckling!!!

Ira says

“I don’t believe in hell. I believe in unemployment”, says Hoffman distractedly, as he feverishly packs his clothes for a weekend get away with the woman he’s fallen head over heels for. Seconds before he was searching for his pink nightgown and his buddy and roommate Jeff played by Bill Murray was staring at him in disbelief.

Now, if you thought Mrs. Doubtfire was funny, and if you haven’t seen Tootsie, you are seriously missing out! This is one of my all time favorite comedies (romance in there too) and a film that shows you just how darn talented, and versatile an actor Dustin Hoffman is (multi-time Academy Award nominee and two time Academy Award winner for Kramer vs. Kramer & Rainman). Hoffman stars as Michael Dorsey, a New York based, struggling actor, part time waiter and part time acting coach. Michael is a talented actor but unfortunately, he’s preceded by a reputation for being ‘volatile’ so no one really wants to work with him.

As Michael reveals in the crisp opening credits, a montage of acting lessons and miserable auditions, unemployment is a serious problem for actors (hell, I can tell you that! Not just in New York City circa the 1980’s but anytime and everywhere). So, when the competition is tough, when you just aren’t old, young, short, or tall enough, have been out of work for 4 months and totally desperate, you are pretty much ready to do what it takes to land a part. For Michael Dorsey that means finding a way to raise money to do a play and finally get the opportunity he feels he deserves. Little does he know what that would take.

When the creators of a popular American soap opera, (or daytime drama, as director Ron Carlisle, played suavely by Dabney Coleman would prefer) Southwest General hold auditions for the role of their female hospital administrator, they unexpectedly find someone or ‘something’, unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. A middle aged, feisty, independent, strong-minded actress named Dorothy Michaels whom they cast her right away. The only thing is, Dorothy is a man. Hoffman rather. Dorothy’s a hit, a champion for women everywhere, a new symbol of independent female characters on American TV, TRP’s are up and fan mail is pouring in. Only thing is Michael is living a lie, pretending he’s a woman in real life as well, and is meanwhile falling hopelessly in love with his co-star Julie Nichols played by Jessica Lange.

Love, sex, chauvinism, feminism, farce, absurdity, social commentary, and hilarious moments of irony, conflict, and desire come together in this intelligently wrought screenplay and through Pollack’s vibrant, energetic storytelling which always feels so personal, intimate and alive. I loved the sound score and the real time Manhattan flavor Pollack creates and I loved his leading man/woman. Hoffman plays a woman with comfort, spunk, and absolute control. With a superb supporting cast including Pollack himself, who plays George Fields, Michael’s agent (apparently Hoffman convinced him to do the role and it’s a good thing because they have some of the best and funniest scenes together!), Bill Murray as Jeff, another struggling artist, in this case a writer, Teri Garr as a hysterical actress named Sandy, and George gayness as Dr Brewster, a slimy, old school, deluded doctor on the TV show, this one is an ensemble, gender crossing riot. An actors delight, (all its principal characters are thespians after all and cross dressing as Michael says, being the biggest often most frightening challenge for an actor), but also a satirical, clever, unpredictable, laugh out loud film that kick started the trend of cross dressing in Hollywood and became a hallmark for drag films that have got humor, bite and soul.