SYNOPSIS

Brilliant but notoriously difficult New York actor Michael Dorsey is well respected by other actors but hasn't worked in two years. He supports himself by waiting on tables and teaching acting classes. One of his students, Sandy, fails an audition for a part on a soap opera, despite Michael's help. After a confrontation with his agent, who tells him no director will hire him, Michael does himself up as a woman, and is cast in the part of Emily on "Southwest General," the same role Sandy failed to win. His real motive for taking the part is to make a quick buck to finance a play by his roommate Jeff. But Michael quickly becomes absorbed in the role, rewriting his lines and making Dorothy a phenomenally popular character for her gutsiness, independence and eccentricities. As Dorothy, he achieves greater success than ever before and begins to gain insight into what it's like to be a woman in show business. But he has to go to great lengths to protect his secret, one that's complicated by his falling in love with his co-star Julie. Dorothy becomes such a sensation, the show's producers opt to extend her contract, trapping Michael in the female role and keeping him from being able to pursue an honest relationship with Julie, until an unexpected live broadcast of the show gives him the opportunity to set everything straight.

Director: Sydney Pollack
Producers: Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards
Screenplay: Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal, Elaine May (uncredited), Barry Levinson & Valerie Curtin (uncredited), story by Don McGuire
Cinematography: Owen Roizman
Editing: Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp
Production Design: Peter Larkin
Music: Dave Grusin
Cast: Dustin Hoffman (Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels), Jessica Lange (Julie), Teri Garr (Sandy), Charles Durning (Les), Dabney Coleman (Ron), Bill Murray (Jeff), Geena Davis (April).
C-117m. Letterboxed.

Despite the chaos and contentiousness that reportedly accompanied its script development and production, Tootsie emerged as not only one of the finest and most popular films of its time but as a comedy that stands up very well among the great "screwball" movies of Hollywood's classic period. More than 20 years later, it's still an audience and critics' favorite and doesn't feel in the least dated, thanks to great writing, dead-on performances and expert direction that preserves all the outrageous humor while remaining true to its carefully delineated characters.

It's impossible to imagine anyone but Dustin Hoffman in the lead role. Of course, the film was created and shaped for him and succeeds all the more for incorporating into the storyline and character what we know of his eager but difficult devotion to his craft. Bringing his famously fanatical attention to bear on every detail of the performance, Hoffman creates not one but three memorable characters (actor Michael, his alter ego Dorothy and her soap opera character, Emily).

Tootsie, however, is not a mere star turn by an actor at the top of his form. Hoffman's performance is perfectly attuned to a terrific ensemble cast in which even the smallest role is distinctive. Jessica Lange, known for intensely complex dramatic parts (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1981, Frances, 1982) that thankfully overshadowed her critically maligned debut in King Kong (1976), brings an unexpected vulnerability and unforced sensuality to the role of soap opera actress Julie. Even the potentially one-dimensional roles handled by Dabney Coleman (as a macho, skirt-chasing director), George Gaynes (as a ham actor), Teri Garr (as Michael's insecure girlfriend), Bill Murray (as Michael's wisecracking roommate) and Geena Davis (making her film debut as a ditzy supporting actress in the soap) come across vividly. It's the kind of ensemble casting, playing and writing that once earned high praise for classic comedies by Preston Sturges and Frank Capra.

Tootsie has gained a reputation for being a feminist-themed story, buoyed by Hoffman's own assertions at the time that he learned how it felt to be a woman (and wished he could bear children!). But the film's greatest achievement doesn't lie in any kind of "message." In fact, it doesn't always live up to those ideals, presenting a picture of a man who disguises himself as a woman and inspires "other" women to be more independent and assertive (some feminists have criticized the film in that regard) and treating a principal female character, the actress played by Teri Garr, with a certain amount of condescension and disrespect. What's really remarkable is the film's exploration of the art and craft of acting - the sacrifices and compromises, ego and ambition, and ultimately, the joys of creativity. With an actor like Hoffman, that aspect comes across most forcefully in the film, and it's a testament to his performance and every detail of Tootsie that this rather insular world is something any audience member can enjoy watching.

by Rob Nixon by