Tootsie [M]

Michael Dorsey is a struggling actor, but his luck changes when he dresses up as a woman going by the name of Dorothy Michaels and gets a part on a daytime soap. Whilst working on the show and completely turning it around, Michael falls in love with his co-star and, as the soap makes more and more profit thanks to him, the entire masquerade becomes harder and harder to keep up. 

This was a lovely little film. It was subtle, it had gender-bending, and it had wonderful performances from its stars. In its day, this movie was quite a pioneer because I don’t think men pretending to be women was something you saw on screen that often. I thoroughly enjoyed Tootsie. 

Michael Dorsey is a struggling actor, but his luck changes when he dresses up as woman going by the name of Dorothy Michaels and gets a part on a daytime soap. Whilst working on the show and completely turning it around, Michael falls in love with his co-star and, as the soap makes more and more profit thanks to Dorothy’s performances, Michael finds it harder and harder to keep up the masquerade. 

Unlike most gender-bending films that I’ve seen, Tootsie didn’t camp anything up or overdo anything. Most gender-bending comedies tend to overdo the sappy messages about understanding and strength and bravery and that kind of thing, but Tootsie was a really simple and frank little story; this guy dresses like a girl because he simply needs the money. It’s not an undercover thing like Some Like It Hot or Mrs. Doubtfire or anything like that, which is really good, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film like this. 

Dustin Hoffman stars as Michael and Dorothy and he was just lovely. He made a pretty good girl as girls go, too. He delivered a performance that was powerful, influential, charming, aggressive, funny, and wonderfully subtle and simple. I loved him. 

Starring Bill Murray, Terri Garr, Jessica Lange, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Sydney Pollack, George Gaynes, and Geena Davis, Tootsie was a lovely little film that was heart-warming and completely charming. Filled with comedy, dresses, gender-bending, and a few feminist messages, it really was a lovely little film.