Review of Tootsie (1982) by Nicole S — 14 Apr 2011
Hilarious! Dustin Hoffman does a great job establishing his character, Michael Dorsey, as a temperamental actor whose female alter ego, Dorothy Michaels, becomes too popular and complicates his love life to boot. The dialog is unflinching -- those close to Michael question his gender and sanity -- and everyone is sympathetic to some degree, even the slimy soap opera director. Jessica Lange is the most effective here, as the down to earth, kind, and vulnerable actress who loves Dorothy, "but not that way.".
There are also a bunch of running gags that balance out the thematic weight of art and theater and pretense, such as the director and producer of the soap making sure Dorothy doesn't get too many close-ups ("I wish I were prettier," Michael laments). There's also the need-to-change-sex quickly trope, as well as the changing-voices-to-grab-a-cab standby. That was pretty funny.
The only glaringly bad choice in this movie is the soundtrack. This are some seriously bad eighties riffs, and I mean bad in a bad way. Ugh.
Other than that, it's an amusing story of a man who becomes a woman who inspires other women to stand up for themselves. Oh, the irony. Keep your eyes peeled for the final melodramatic scene on the set, which is bad in a good way.
This review of Tootsie (1982) was written by Nicole S on 14 Apr 2011.
Tootsie has generally received very positive reviews.
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