TOOTSIE. (1982) DIRECTED BY SYDNEY POLLACK. STARRING DUSTIN HOFFMAN, JESSICA LANGE, BILL MURRAY, TERI GARR, DABNEY COLEMAN, CHARLES DURNING, GEENA DAVIS AND SYDNEY POLLACK. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
I have kind of mixed feelings about this American 'Eighties comedy, the cross-dressing smash hit that preceded MRS. DOUBTFIRE by roughly a decade. On the one hand, it's a terrific comedy about a washed-up actor with a reputation for being impossible to work with who dresses up as a dame and lands a plum role on a hugely popular daytime soap opera.
On the other hand, he deceives a bunch of perfectly nice people in order to do so, not to mention making a mug out of half the American public into the bargain. Ah well. That's life. It's still a cracking film, though, and you'll probably recognise the theme tune as well, It Might Be You by Stephen Bishop. It's one of those instantly recognisable 'Eighties mushy love ballads...!
Dustin Hoffman is excellent as Michael Dorsey, the middle-aged actor who causes trouble at every audition he attends because he's such a perfectionist. I loved the bit where he's arguing in all seriousness about what a tomato- yes, a tomato!- would or wouldn't do in a given situation.
Dustin Hoffman is famous for being one of those 'method actors' who really try to get into the skin of the character they're meant to be playing. I wonder how easy he himself has been to work with over the years? Haha, just kidding. I'm sure he's lovely and easy-going on the set...!
If Dustin Hoffman is great as Michael Dorsey, he's even better as Dorothy Michaels, the female character he's hired to play in hospital drama SOUTHWEST GENERAL. It's one of those daytime soaps so beloved of the Americans, like THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL and THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS. And remember when Joey Tribiani from FRIENDS played Dr. Drake Ramore on DAYS OF OUR LIVES? Those scenes were flippin' hilarious.
That's the kind of soap opera we're talking about here, the ones characterised by hammy heavy-handed acting and overly dramatic plot twists and cliffhangers. They're seemingly dangerous places to be as well, these daytime soap operas, because every second person who stars in them is in a bloody coma...!
That's when they're not sleeping with their mother's toyboy lover, of course, or having terrible car accidents that leave them horribly disfigured and when their bandages come off they've turned into a completely different person, haha. You know the kind of thing. Come on, I know you watch 'em...!
Anyway, Dorothy Michaels is a wonderful character. She's as ballsy (excuse the pun!) as Euphegeniah Doubtfire any day of the week and with every bit as much chutzpah but she's much more feminine. Maybe that's the difference between the slightly built Dustin Hoffman and the super-hairy and stockier Robin Williams, who knows?
Any-hoo, Dorothy's the new hospital administrator and the gas thing is that she's a total feminist and she forces everyone in the cast and crew to have respect for her as a woman and not to call her sexist appellations like 'Sweetie,' 'Honey' or the titular 'Tootsie.' 'She' becomes a feminist icon and even makes the cover of iconic women's magazine, COSMOPOLITAN, dressed in an impressive array of glamorous togs.
Michael Dorsey the man thoroughly enjoys dressing up in ladies' clothing while fending off sexual advances from the more amorous cast-and-crew members. He's in his element, despite the fact that he's complicated his own life in ways you couldn't even begin to imagine.
For one thing, he's fallen in love with his beautiful co-star, Julie Nichols, who thinks he's a woman, obviously, and only sees him as a best girl-friend, mentor and feminist role-model. To make things worse, Julie's dad Les has fallen for 'Dorothy' without having a notion in the world what 'she's' got between her legs! It's a powder-keg waiting to explode, people.
Sydney Pollack (the director, no less) does a great job as Michael's long-suffering agent George. Ditto Bill Murray as Michael's deadpan friend and flatmate Jeff and Teri Garr as the neurotic mess that is Sandie, Michael's actress friend.
Sandie's your typical New York woman who over-thinks everything every man has ever said to her and who probably spends hours a week thrashing it all out with her analyst, whose kids she's putting through college with her navel-gazing and constant soul-searching over blokes.
It's her misfortune to fall in love (temporarily) with Michael while being totally unaware of his alter-ego Dorothy Michaels, an inspiration to women all over America. She also doesn't know about the real love of Michael's life, the lovely Julie who, by the way, looks gorgeous in her sexy little nurse's outfit on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Sorry, SOUTHWEST GENERAL...!
Sandie's your typical New York woman who over-thinks everything every man has ever said to her and who probably spends hours a week thrashing it all out with her analyst, whose kids she's putting through college with her navel-gazing and constant soul-searching over blokes.
What am I saying, she's obviously the kind of desperate-to-be-loved single woman who calls her analyst back off his honeymoon in Maui because a man said 'Good morning' to her and she wants to know exactly what he meant by it. I hate women like that. I totally am a woman like that...!
It's her misfortune to fall in love (temporarily) with Michael while being totally unaware of his alter-ego Dorothy Michaels, an inspiration to women all over America. She also doesn't know about the real love of Michael's life, the lovely Julie who, by the way, looks gorgeous in her sexy little nurse's outfit on DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Sorry, SOUTHWEST GENERAL...!
Don't worry about Sandie, though. She's the kind of woman who falls in love all over again every time the pizza place sends over a new delivery guy. A bit like me, actually. Another day, another new guy to moon over...!
Estelle Getty, who played the mother in 'Eighties sitcom THE GOLDEN GIRLS, has a tiny cameo as- wait for it!- an old lady. The leggy and delightfully toothsome Geena Davis also makes her debut in TOOTSIE which, by the way again, is currently out on Blu-Ray courtesy of the nice people at THE CRITERION COLLECTION. Complete with extra features and a stunning, fresh-looking colour, it's just the job for a girls' night in. Or a boys' night in. Now I'm all confused.
Let's just say that it's the perfect film for everyone regardless of whether you have a wiener, boobies or even tentacles. How about that? Ah, just watch the movie, you guys. It's an unforgettable gem of a comedy classic.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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