Review of Tootsie (1982) by David A — 21 Apr 2010

(from The Watermark, 11/24/97).

In my opinion, one of the greatest films of all time - the comedy against which I measure all other comedies. Hoffman plays an out-of-work actor who disguises himself as a woman, and auditions for a role on a daytime soap. He gets the part, but becomes so successful that he finds himself stuck with an alter-ego he can't get rid of. He also falls in love with one of the other actresses (Lange) and can't bring himself to break it off with his perpetually depressed girlfriend (Garr). Tootsie is much more than a man-in-a-dress one-joke comedy thanks to the layers incorporated by director Sydney Pollack. In addition to shattering gender stereotypes and criticizing sexism, the film also satirizes soap operas, show business, and pop culture as a whole. At its heart is a wonderful romantic comedy, and the scenes with Lange are both tender and comic in their inherent irony. Pollack saves the best for the last in a drop-dead hilarious sequence that has Hoffman's entire world crashing down on him, relationship by relationship. It is has a funny premise, a timeless theme, and a main character who ends up a more honest man thanks to his own dishonesty. They don't get better than this.