Tootsie (1982)

Director:

Sydney Pollack

Writers:

Don McGuire (story) and
Larry Gelbart (story) ...

Release Date:

17 December 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Desperate, he took a female role and became a star. If only he could tell the woman he loves.

Plot:

An unemployed actor with a reputation for being difficult disguises himself as a woman to get a role in a soap opera.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Soap Opera | Unemployed Actor | Audition | Actress

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 21 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Dustin Hoffman	...	Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels
Jessica Lange	...	Julie Nichols
Teri Garr	...	Sandy Lester
Dabney Coleman	...	Ron Carlisle
Charles Durning	...	Leslie 'Les' Nichols
Bill Murray	...	Jeff Slater
Sydney Pollack	...	George Fields
George Gaynes	...	John Van Horn
Geena Davis	...	April Page
Doris Belack	...	Rita Marshall
Ellen Foley	...	Jacqui
Peter Gatto	...	Rick
Lynne Thigpen	...	Jo
Ronald L. Schwary	...	Phil Weintraub
Debra Mooney	...	Mrs. Mallory

Also Known As:

Would I Lie to You? (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

116 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | UK:15 (video rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | USA:PG (re-rating on appeal) | UK:PG (original rating) (cut) | USA:R (original rating) | South Korea:All | Brazil:Livre | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Peru:14 | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Hurley Mountain Inn, Hurley, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Sydney Pollack]Michael/Dorothy's agent, George Fields.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the final scene between Julie and Michael, a taxicab appears and disappears over Julie's left shoulder.

Quotes:

Jeff: [waking up and seeing Michael as Dorothy] Mom?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "I Love the '80s Strikes Back" (2003)

Soundtrack:

It Might Be You

A shining comedy

Michael, an unemployed actor in New York, takes desperate measures by dressing up as a woman called Dorothy Michaels and gets a job at an TV soap opera, where he falls in love with Julie. But how to tell her that he is actually a man...?

Winner of 3 Golden Globes ( Best movie comedy/musical, best actors Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange ) and one Oscar ( Best actress Jessica Lange ), "Tootsie" is a small masterpiece of intelligent comedy, full of emotions, love and interesting observations about the relationship between women and men.

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The situations are deliciously written. Just take the scene where Dorothy is auditioning for the role in the TV soap opera but is turned down because she is "too soft". Her response is gold: "Yes, I know what you want! You want some gross caricature of a woman to prove some idiotic point, like power makes women masculine, or masculine women are ugly...! Well, shame on you, you macho sh*t a**!" When later asked from the producer if she was just acting when she said that or if she was natural, she responded: "Which answer will get me the job?" Needless to say she got the job that instant, and a special place in my heart. But the best scenes are the ones where Dorothy is constantly improvising on the set, like when she was supposed to say to a woman who was beaten up by her man to take a therapy, but instead decided to tell that she would never let a man raise his hand on her( and then she threw a vase of flowers into the wall! ). Wonderful fun! Billy Wilder would be proud!

Dustin Hoffman is pure genius, more as a woman then as a man, as are Terri Garr and Bill Murray, before his critical fame with "Lost in translation" and "Broken flowers". "Tootsie" is quite simply a classic all the way through!

Grade: 10/10