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I am starting to learn that the 80s was quite a year in film. What I mean by that is the year had a lot of fun movies with interesting titles. Titles that made you second guess watching them. When you finally watch the movie, you find it entertaining and a joy to watch. A perfect example was when I watched “A Fish Called Wanda.” That film was hilarious but based on the title, I didn’t want to watch some movie about a fish. How wrong was I? This brings me to the movie Tootsie. I looked at the box cover and had no interest in watching it. I didn’t even look up the description. As this film was on my list of movies to watch, I bit the bullet and decided to watch this film. I must say that just like “A Fish Called Wanda,” Tootsie is entertaining and was fun to watch.
Directed by Sydney Pollack, Tootsie is a romantic comedy following a perfectionist actor who can’t find work and dons a new identity. Michael Dorsey (Hoffman) is a respected actor and acting coach in New York City. His agent, George Fields (Pollack), informs him that no one wants to hire him because he is a perfectionist and difficult to work with. Dude takes things very personally, as he once argued about being a tomato in a role. Michael’s personal life is also pretty bad as he treats women poorly, especially his long-term friend and fellow actor Sandy Lester (Garr), who has very low self-esteem issues. Wanting to prove George wrong and to raise money to finance a play written by his roommate Jeff Slater (Murray), Michael decides that he will do something while helping Sandy. He decides to become a female named Dorothy Michaels and audition for a role in Southwest General, a daytime serial. Michael wins the role of Emily Kimberley, the tough, no-nonsense administrator of the hospital. As Dorothy, Michael puts in his own characteristics. While the world doesn’t know who Dorothy really is, Michael’s friends, George and Jeff, know what he is doing. As the show begins, Michael adlibs Dorothy’s dialogue and soon becomes a major star and hit. During the show’s run, he detests his director, Ron Carlisle (Coleman), for how he treats him and women. Michael soon falls for Ron’s girlfriend, Julie Nichols (Lange), the lead Southwest General actress. Yet, one of the major issues is that two men fall for Dorothy, Southwest General’s long-time lead actor and kisser, John Van Horn (Gaynes), and Julie’s father, Les (Durning). As Dorothy’s popularity grows, Michael must find a way to exit before ruining everything.
When you need to find a job, I ain’t mad at you when you take drastic measures. That is what Michael goes through to get funding for his friend’s play. It is comical but courageous to dress up as a woman or even a man and go for something that is truly special for you. The film is hilarious as Michael tries to weave his way through being an actress. At the start, he is trying to help Sally be a little tougher for a role, and when she doesn’t get it, he dresses up to show everyone what a sassy woman is made of. Once again, a woman could’ve done this role.
What is funny and entertaining about this film is seeing what Michael went through dressed up as Dorothy but also how he put his foot down and improvised many of the scenes. First, the sexual harassment against women is unreal. The director pats one woman on the ass. You have John Van Horn, who kisses women without their permission and sticks his nasty ass tongue down their throat. Some people need to be punched in the dick. The true magic comes when Michael, as Dorothy, speaks her/his mind. She was so sassy and great to watch. She didn’t take shit from anyone. She would hit people with a file, tell them off, and everything else.
Now watching Michael trying to keep it a secret was another adventure, but it is the love affairs that are wild. Many men were attracted to him as Dorothy. Les wanted to marry Dorothy, and John Van Horn wanted to hook up. Yet, Sally thought Michael was gay. He slept with her and stated he wanted to be in a relationship but seemed to miss everything from dates to dinner. Also, Michael has a crush on lead actress Julie, but she doesn’t know that Michael and Dorothy are one and the same and think that Dorothy is gay when she/he tries to kiss her.
Now the final scene was the best. I thought it was well performed and a great way to end the story of Dorothy. I thought it was excellent with how it tied into a soap opera. I love me some soap operas because they always leave you wanting for more. Listen, I am all about the Bold and the Beautiful. That is my favorite soap opera; back to the review. The way Michael reveals himself and ends his character was straight-up gangsta. You have to watch it and get a major laugh.
Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey was great and fun to watch. As Michael, he was a perfectionist and was all over the place. As Dorothy, he was sassy and spoke her mind. Hoffman did a great job and made this role fun to watch. Teri Garr as Sandy Lester was a joy to watch. First, watching her have trouble being sassy and mean during an audition is funny because she lets Michael have it in the end. Also, Gena Davis is in this film as her feature debut. Freakin Bill Murray also comes through.
Oh, Jessica Lange. The beautiful and lovely Jessica Lange. What beauty product have you been using because you still look as beautiful as you did back then? Homegirl has the fountain of youth running through her veins. As Julie Nichols, Lange shows Julie as an actress who is a single mom providing for her family. She is a joy to watch. Also, her dick punching skills are top-notch. Cover the McNuggets when you mess with her.
Tootsie is a surprise movie because I would’ve probably never watched it. It is funny to see Michael and his love affairs develop or blow up right before him. As Dorothy, she was a great character that any strong woman could pull off. Give this movie a chance because I did and had a nice couple of laughs.
