Tootsie

"How do you feel about Cleveland'"

"I was a better man with you as a woman than I ever was with a woman as a man."

Academy Awards 1982 - Best Supporting Actress: Jessica Lange

Sight and Sound - 06/01/1983
"...TOOTSIE is an extremely funny movie..."

Variety - 12/08/1982
"...Remarkably funny and entirely convincing....[The] film instantly takes flight with charm and confidence and stays aloft thereafter..."

USA Today - 02/07/1992
"...Better than ever and looking better than ever..."

Premiere - 04/01/2004
"Hoffman had more than proven his chop by then; but this drama-comedy, male-female dichotomy of a film was something else again."

Entertainment Weekly - 02/15/2008
"TOOTSIE earned 10 Oscar nods and remains a masterful farce..." -- Grade: A-

Empire - 03/01/2008
4 stars out of 5 -- "[The] gender-bender farce is still a gas, Hoff on virtuoso form as a turbulent actor flunking on Broadway....Something special."

Total Film - 04/01/2008
4 stars out of 5 -- "[B]y playing its farcical situation for real, Dusty, Sydney et al were able to sprinkle the laughs with some serious musings on gender stereotyping and the differences between the sexes."

Uncut - 04/01/2008
3 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's some Wilder-ish wit..."

When theatrical mastermind Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) finds himself blacklisted by just about every producer in the acting business, he decides to thwart the entertainment industry by disguising himself as an older woman and auditioning for a daytime soap opera. Dorsey arrives for the audition in a dress and makeup. Calling himself Dorothy Michaels, he/she gives an astonishing screen test and is hired on the spot by the show's executive (Dabney Coleman). Dorsey is an overnight sensation with the show's fans, but as his secret career escalates, his relationship with his girlfriend (Teri Garr) suffers. Soon Dorsey finds a new romantic interest at work with his co-star, Julie. The only problem is, Julie thinks Dorsey is a woman and it's not long before she's trying to fix up Dorothy with her single father.

In the tradition of Mel Brooks's THE PRODUCERS, Sydney Pollack's TOOTSIE is a rich, funny, complex film. In featuring Hoffman as the smock-wearing protagonist, its boldness exposes movie-goers to the hilarious challenges faced by a modern cross-dresser. At the same time, the film promoted tolerance for transgendered people. Hoffman is unforgettable as the actor so desperate for work that he'll dress as a woman to get it, and supporting players Geena Davis and Bill Murray create plenty of comedy relief to help the plot along.

Classic | Essential Cinema | Rags To Riches | Recommended | Romance | Showbiz | Switching Roles | Theatrical Release

Award Winners:

• Academy Awards - Best Supporting Actress

Genre:

• Comedy Movies