Review of Tootsie (1982) by Katja I — 04 Sep 2009

Tootsie was definitely cute, but it was also dated. True, Michael learns that he makes a better woman in the end (this is not a spoiler, by the way), and this kind of commentary was extremely relevant in 1982, but today, it feels like an echo from an evermore-distant past.

The film was well performed; all of the actors were convincing and believable, even if not all of their characters were actually funny in the end. To wit, the funniest character was played by Teri Garr, who, though she becomes a hysterical stereotype of the ignored and trodden upon friend-turned-girlfriend, the typical somewhat psycho ex/girlfriend who can only obsess about her imaginary relationship to a man interested in accidental sex (see the film), she has this fast, ditzy delivery and manic set of tantrums that proved to be the only points in the film that solicited laughs. Even Bill Murray was decidedly deadpan in this performance and was otherwise relatively unmemorable. And, naturally, Hoffman was divine as Dorothy; he wasnâ??t the most attractive woman (about which the film readily pokes fun), but the change in his mannerisms and affectations was quite convincing, so much so that it was forgettable that he was a man until watching scenes in which he sat in nothing but his wig-cap and pantyhose.

In fact, the laughs were designed to be situational, and when Pollak directed this farce toward over-the-top, the film became legitimately funny. Otherwise, it played like a television sitcom stretched over two hours, and while the suggestion of its formulaic tendencies may be harsh, the fact of the matter is that Tootsie didnâ??t create the formula. Some Like It Hot provided the framework in film upon which Tootsie built its ultimate message about the relationships between men and women. The film is recommendable, though, as an easygoing film, appropriate when a person just wants to watch a comedy or a light romance.