Tootsie

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray, Sydney Pollack, George Gaynes, Geena Davis, Tobin Bell (uncredited)
Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
1982

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A struggling actor (Dustin Hoffman) pretends to be a woman to get a job on a hospital soap opera.

Review:

Tim: Tootsie is a classic comedy film and I have to say, I really enjoyed it. It's a solidly made film. That's the most important thing to highlight- so many comedies are failures and this one is certainly not that. It's humorous and it explores some complex gender issues in the early 1980s. However, I have to say, I'm a bit surprised this movie landed on AFI's 100 Movies...100 Years list. I thought it was a really good movie, but a far cry from one of the best movies of all time. It felt like it didn't reach those heights.

There are certainly a lot of positives, though. The movie brilliantly explores gender issues by having the main character- a critical, arrogant man tap into his feminine side to play a woman on a trashy soap opera. This is where the movie shines because the transition Michael Dorsey experiences is subtle enough that it actually feels authentic and natural. I would believe that any human man who tried to live as a woman would find the experience life-altering. Likely degrading, horrifying, and frightening as well. This is where the movie does succeed- Dorsey's portrayal of a woman isn't just for a gag, but it actually changes him. I really enjoyed that aspect of the film. Now, I do need to highlight one of the big issues I had with this transformation. As much as Michael is supposedly changed, once he (SPOILER) reveals his true gender, he goes right back to pursuing Julie like a man would, ignoring the obvious messages she's sending him. I know this movie came out in 1982, but it still felt troubling. It undercuts the whole "I've changed" message. Michael probably did change, just not nearly enough to respect Julie's wishes. It bothered me.

I should highlight the cast. Dustin Hoffman is excellent in the lead role. While he doesn't make a very flattering woman (he's admitted this), I thought his performance worked. The makeup isn't quite convincing enough, but it's still impressive. It wasn't the safest choice to play a role where you spend so much time in drag (or embrace it as much as this character does), but Hoffman sells it. It's legitimately fun to watch him struggle to keep up the charade that he's a woman. I wish I liked his character more (I never really did feel a connection with him), but it was entertaining to watch Hoffman sweat out some awkward moments. I thought his performance was definitely worth of the Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, but I agree Ben Kingsley was more deserving of the win.

I was a little surprised that Jessica Lange won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress here. She has some strong moments, but it didn't feel like a completely authentic performance to me. She might be more likeable than many of the other characters, but I didn't leave the film feeling any sense of awe of what she did. It was a strong performance in a solid movie, but slightly unremarkable. Still, it's not like I disliked her performance. She actually defeated costar Teri Garr for the same award. I would probably give Lange the edge over Garr myself, although Garr's performance felt more effortless and authentic. Still, both women were strong and deserved their recognition. I loved seeing Bill Murray in a supporting role. His name was purposely left off the advertisements so that people wouldn't mistake this for a "Bill Murray" comedy. It ended up being a pleasant surprise. I actually loved that Murray wasn't responsible for the film. In so many of his movies, the comedy burden is firmly on him. He actually worked great in this supporting role. He was funny, but never over-the-top. His reactions to Hoffman were hilarious in an understated way. It really was a strong performance. Sydney Pollack is really funny in his supporting role, too. He and Hoffman have terrific interactions together. Dabney Coleman hammed it up in a solid supporting role. It was fun seeing Geena Davis in an early role. As a whole, you have to give the cast a lot of credit.

As much as I enjoyed Tootsie, it was a bit uncomfortable of a movie for me to watch. I felt a sense of unease about Hoffman's secret being revealed. It wasn't as fun as I expected. Now, the movie does have some legitimately funny parts, but it's not as consistently funny as I thought it would be. Murray and Pollack are funny in nearly every scene, but they're smaller roles. There were some legitimately funny exchanges (the one about who thinks Michael is gay, who thinks he's a lesbian, etc. was especially clever) throughout the film, but this isn't a movie in which I found myself laughing nearly enough.

Tootsie is a film that I thoroughly enjoyed and would consider it a very good movie. It surprises me that it was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. It's less surprising that it won only 1. I wouldn't consider this a great movie, but an entertaining one for sure.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: 9 to 5, Kramer vs. Kramer