Tootie (1982)

Directed by: Sydney Pollack | 119 minutes | comedy, romance | Actors: Dustin Hoffman, Bill Murray, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Sydney Pollack, George Gaynes, Geena Davis, Doris Belack, Ellen Foley, Peter Gatto, Lynne Thigpen, Ronald L. Schwary, Debra Mooney

Long before movies like ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ (1993) or ‘White Chicks’ (2004) there was ‘Tootsie’ (1982). Not a divorced man who decides to become a housekeeper in order to still be with his children, no police officers in costume, but a run-down second-rate actor who desperately needs to get back on the stage to make ends meet. Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is all over as an actor, he can’t find a job anywhere. Then he decides to take a completely different approach; he dresses up as a woman and auditions for a soap opera as Dorothy Michaels and eventually gets the job. But then the difficulties really begin; his roommate (Bill Murray) makes fun of him, his relationship with his good friend (Teri Garr) is watered down, he falls in love with his co-star who thinks he is a woman (Jessica Lange) and, as icing on the cake, there are also two more older men fall in love with his female alter-ego. And meanwhile, Dorothy’s star is on the rise…

Dustin Hoffman steals the show not only as a man, but also as a woman. As Dorothy he is many times more amiable than as Michael, yet he plays both roles with equal verve. His scenes with Bill Murray are hilarious. Applause for Murray’s comedic talents; each sentence is improvised, he has done nothing, absolutely nothing, from paper. The interplay of Hoffman and Murray is wonderfully entertaining to watch. A nice detail is that director Sydney Pollack also appears briefly as manager of Michael/Dorothy. Jessica Lange, in the role of co-star Julie Nichols, knows how to convince as the blond actress. She didn’t win an Oscar for this role for nothing. There is chemistry between her and Dorothy as well as between her and Michael. The other woman in Hoffman’s life is Teri Garr, who was rejected for the role as Dorothy, and a close friend of Michael’s. She also knows how to set the right tone and is a good addition to the already great cast.

‘Tootsie’ may have been around for a few years, but it remains current. The film has been nominated ten times for an Oscar and eventually managed to win one (Jessica Lange); that says enough. ‘Tootsie’ just a really fun movie for the whole family.