Review of Tootsie (1982) by Phoebe C — 24 Jul 2008

[size=3][size=1]Whenever I see a man pretending to be a woman in a movie or vice-versa, I can?t stop thinking "are you kidding me?" Whether it?s Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in "Some Like It Hot" or Greta Garbo in "Queen Christina," I just can?t accept that people around them are fooled by very bad disguises.[/size].

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[size=1]"Tootsie" is no different. Dustin Hoffman was superb as Michael Dorsey, but he was just not credible as Dorothy Michaels. "Dorothy" just doesn?t look, talk, nor dress like any woman I?ve ever seen.[/size].

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[size=1]Besides, Dorsey ? like the Curtis, Lemmon and Garbo characters ? acts stupid. You?d think he?d breathe a sigh of relief after each work day that he wasn?t unmasked. Instead, he dramatically increases his chances of getting caught by spending a weekend as a woman with Jessica Lange?s Julie Nichols character, not inventing a boyfriend so men won?t pursue him/her, and stunningly, uttering a pickup line as Dorsey to Nichols that Nichols told Michaels she wanted to hear.[/size].

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[size=1]Nichols was beyond dumb not to realize Michaels was Dorsey. Even their names were very similar. And how could no one working for the soap opera he/she acted on nor the magazine and TV reporters who interviewed him/her not be suspicious of a middle-aged person with no proof of a pre-soap opera life?[/size].

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[size=1]Given my history of cynicism, though, I have to accept that I will never find cross-dressing disguises credible and judge "Tootsie" by other criteria, including its many funny scenes. The best laughs occur while Dorsey is talking to his roommate (played by Bill Murray) or his agent (played by Sydney Pollack). Murray and Pollack, the movie?s director, are superb.[/size].

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[size=1]The best thing about "Tootsie," though, is that its well-written script has a lot of heart. While pretending to be a woman, Dorsey inspires other women on the soap opera to be more assertive and less accepting of misogynistic behavior by standing up to men and he transforms his TV character into someone who inspires females around the U.S. to become more independent. Being treated as an inferior as Michaels also gives Dorsey a new perspective that makes him more respectful toward women.[/size].

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[size=1]Dorsey also exhibits heart by choosing friends over wealth. He only wants to make enough money in TV to ensure that a play written by Murray will be produced and give a financially struggling friend played by Teri Garr a co-starring role. Thus, Dorsey wants to leave the soap opera although it could make him rich.[/size].

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[size=1]The story also sets up a lot of interesting character conflicts, including an overall man vs. woman conflict. Since Dorsey is both, his internal battle as he pursues a woman as a man, spurns two men as a woman, wrestles with how to treat Garr as she pursues a relationship with him that he is not interested in, and hides his identity while dressed as a woman is the most compelling conflict.[/size].

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[size=1]The conflict between a macho director played by Dabney Coleman and Michaels is probably the most interesting external conflict, but there are several other examples of women challenging men. The conflicts lure viewers deeper into the story and make us more interested in what happens to Hoffman, Lange, Coleman, Murray, Garr, and Charles Durning, who plays Lange?s father.[/size].

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[size=1]If I had seen a movie where a man credibly posed as a woman, I would harshly penalize "Tootsie" in my rating. I haven?t so I will have to focus on the fact that the story, dialogue, comedy, acting, and character conflicts are almost good enough to give "Tootsie" a 9.[/size].

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[size=3][size=1]I deducted one point because Dorsey should have been smarter around Nichols, she should have been more suspicious about Michaels, and the climactic speech was way too convoluted. I gave "Tootsie" an 8.[/size].

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[size=1]ZWrite[/size].

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