Tootsie (DVD)

.../>

Tootsie stands in my mind as one of the comedy greats of all time; it's a great movie with a charm of its own. Better still it keeps pretty good boundaries in respect of language and sexual content so it can be enjoyed by anyone. I was about 11 when I first saw Tootsie and I even then knew it was a fantastic movie. As I have grown older I have learned to appreciate it for different things. Without a doubt Tootsie is one of the ...
...out of the situation. In Tootsie you really can see why it's so hard to pull away from the life you have made for yourself, especially when your alter ego makes the front page of every glossy magazine in the country. And becomes the nations best loved iron lady. It also shows the shallowness of people, how quickly he is accepted by people when they think he is a woman, the sort of acceptance he could not get as a man. And when that acceptance again ... more

Most of us have been there, we just want to work. However there are always things that hinder you, the times I have re-written my CV is nobodies business. For Michael Dorsey its hard going wanting to become an actor he is either too short, too thinn, too fat, not dramatic enough, too dramatic or just not right. Worse still he actually teaches people how to act, not much of an advertisement for your talents is it?

After one rejection after another Michael makes a dramatic move, if he cannot get a job as a man then maybe he can get a job as a woman. When a role transpires for a one off part in General Hospital a daytime soap Michael decides to audition dressed as a woman, just to see the response. The response proves favourable and not only is he given the position straight away; he appears to be completely believable as a woman.

On the first day of work Michael or Dorothy as he is now known interferes with the script saying that the context is all wrong. Figuring he is making a one off performance he won't be making any difference, to his career prospects. Although the director is annoyed by the change everyone on set agrees that it's a good choice and it's more in keeping with the character. Fortunately or unfortunately for Dorothy this brings more attention to his/her acting skills, and his contract is extended and a full time role is given too him. More alarming still is that he is very popular off screen too his co workers love him.

When he takes a liking to a fellow worker Julie he knows things are going to get difficult, and when Julies father falls in love with him things go from bad to worse. He cannot even slip back into his old life as his best friend and room mate thinks he has gone completely mad and now his old girlfriend Sandy thinks he is having an affair with an old woman as she has seen "Dorothy" entering the apartment. Michael/Dorothy finds themselves in a situation few would want to be in, but how do they move on and put their life back into perspective?

Tootsie stands in my mind as one of the comedy greats of all time; it's a great movie with a charm of its own. Better still it keeps pretty good boundaries in respect of language and sexual content so it can be enjoyed by anyone. I was about 11 when I first saw Tootsie and I even then knew it was a fantastic movie. As I have grown older I have learned to appreciate it for different things. Without a doubt Tootsie is one of the pinnacles of Dustin Hoffman's career, who in my opinion with the exception of Rain Man has turned out an awful lot of "pap" since. The thing with Hoffman is that you rarely get to see him as a comedy actor and here he shines in a light so bright he eclipses everyone else in the movie, and you really do believe that he is a woman; although a not particularly attractive one.

It's nice to see how Hoffman's character continues to dig himself into a bigger and bigger hole, with a lot of movies you watch you can almost say that its easy for the character to get out of the situation. In Tootsie you really can see why it's so hard to pull away from the life you have made for yourself, especially when your alter ego makes the front page of every glossy magazine in the country. And becomes the nations best loved iron lady. It also shows the shallowness of people, how quickly he is accepted by people when they think he is a woman, the sort of acceptance he could not get as a man. And when that acceptance again shifts later in the movie you again are left annoyed at the shallowness of people.

Another lesser seen star in the movie is Bill Murray in one of his first roles he plays Jeff who lives with Michael, you cant help but smile as each time he appears on screen he presents you with a catalogue of comments that you could come out with yourself. He becomes so submerged in the story of Dorothy that you can see he is having a hard time adapting from the fiction to the reality, and talks of Dorothy as if the character she pays is real.

The only downside I believe is that the film spends too much time focusing on Michael's failing career and not on his new one, so when his alter ego shows up you do not get to see enough of a progression for this character.

Cast

Dustin Hoffman .... Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels
Jessica Lange .... Julie Nichols
Teri Garr .... Sandy Lester
Dabney Coleman .... Ron Carlisle
Charles Durning .... Les Nichols
Bill Murray .... Jeff Slater
Sydney Pollack .... George Fields
George Gaynes .... John Van Horn
Geena Davis .... April Page

Directed by Sidney Pollack

The movie has no special features which is sad, as I know there is an abundance of stuff held at Columbia from watching a documentary on Hoffman recently. There is however a theatrical trailer and a biography list.

Languages: French ; Italian ; German ; Spanish

Subtitles: English ; French ; German ; Polish ; Czech ; Hungarian ; Turkish ; Danish ; Arabic ; Bulgarian ; Swedish ; Finnish ; Icelandic ; Dutch ; Norwegian ; Portuguese ; Greek ; Hebrew ; Spanish ; Italian

The soundtrack has been converted to Dolby Stereo from the original Mono print. Although Stereo was widely in use in 1982 an accident during the final stages of production meant that Tootsie was released in a mono soundtrack only. If you have ever seen the movie prior to this version you may have noticed that in places it was difficult to understand what was being said as sound and music was loud and speech was quiet. On this DVD this has now been rectified.

Amazingly the DVD is a little on the steep side, I have looked around various trusted sites Play, Loaded, Amazon and it seems to be around the £12 -£15 mark, i'm sure you'll be able to pick this up from Ebay for a better price.
 

...less