Tootsie (1982)

Tootsie (1982)

7/10

Starring

Dustin Hoffman
Jessica Lange
Teri Garr

Directed by Sydney Pollack

Here is a movie about cross-dressing that I actually liked. This movie makes Martin Lawrence Big Momma look like a high school prank.

Starring Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange and directed by Sydney Pollack who also played Hoffman's agent in the movie, it was nominated for 10 Academy Awards but only took home one for best supporting actress. What I liked about the movie is its, writing and dialogue, you will find yourself swept into the love of movie by the witty remarks that make this more than just your average comedy.

Tootsie takes a while getting into, but the moment you do you find yourself smiling all the way to the very end. What takes a while is the intro of the character, and some early scenes that feels a little stretched though as we know we are not to like the character, but they really wanted to hammer it in early on.

The movie plot is about a perfectionist, talented but volatile actor Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) who was difficult to work with and because of that was finding it hard to get a role. Because of his difficulty, he decided to change a bit, when i say a bit i mean he changed from a man to a woman to land some acting gig so as to raise money to do a stage play. After becoming famous and falling in love with his co star he was now finding it difficult to keep up appearance.

Other things I liked about this movie is the way Hoffman switches between Michael and Dorothy, it is hilarious yet believable, the movie did not over dramatize the switches. And like some of the movies today, we do not have weird situations where we see many of the other actors as fools for not seeing what we see while watching.

Dustin Hoffman’s acting was flawless making the other actors in the movie look like they were struggling to keep up. Jessica Lange, though subtle, was equally solid and gave the film some heart, balancing Hoffman’s over-the-top moments. It is this balance act, that makes you fall into the movie and be carried away by the development of the persons.

I did enjoy this movie a lot and would recommend it if you don’t mind watching cross dressing. It’s not perfect, but it’s clever, funny and still holds up today and it will make you look at all other cross-dressing movies as a waste.