“Tootsie” is no doubt a wonderful comedy and while 1982 was known for the year of “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial”, “Rocky III”, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Poltergeist”, because of Hoffman’s wonderful acting and Sydney Pollack’s directing, “Tootsie” is a film that will hold relevance for many generations to come and will also entertain generations to come. “Tootsie” is recommended!
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TITLE: Tootsie – The Criterion Collection #738
YEAR OF FILM: 1982
DURATION: 116 Minutes
DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, 2:40:1 Aspect Ratio, Monaural and Dolby Digital 5.1, English SDH
COMPANY: The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: November 17, 2020
Directed by Sydney Pollack
Story by Don McGuire and Larry Gelbart
Screenplay by Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal
Produced by Jim Jarmusch, Richard Guay
Co-Produced by Diana Schmidt
Music by RZA
Cinematography by Robert Muller
Edited by Jay Rabinowitz
Casting by Ellen Lewis, Laura Rosenthal, Jeanne McCarthy
Production Design by Ted Berner
Art Direction by Mario Ventenilla
Set Decoration by Ron von Bloomberg
Costume Design by John Dunn
Starring:
Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels
Jessica Lange as Julie
Teri Garr as Sandy
Dabney Coleman as Ron
Charles Dunning as Les
Bill Murray as Jeff
Sydney Pollack as George Fields
George Gaynes as John Van Horn
Geena Davis as April
Doris Belack as Rita
Ellen Foley as Jacqui
Michael Dorsey is a talented actor, but his demanding nature and stubborn temperament have antagonized every producer in New York. Now his agent insists no one will hire him. But Michael needs money – eight thousand dollars to be exact – and to earn it, he’s willing to play the role of a lifetime. Dustin Hoffman stars with Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray andGeena Davis in director Sydney Pollack’s heart-filled classic that heralded a new era of Hollywood wig-flipping and set a new standard for unpredictable laugh-out-loud comedy.
Sydney Pollack is no stranger when it comes to directing successful films.
From directing the 1973 hit film “The Way We Were” starring Barbara Streisand and Robert Redford, the 1975 Robert Redford action film “Three Days of the Condor”, the 1979 Robert Redford/Jane Fonda romantic comedy “The Electric Horseman”, the 1981 Paul Newman and Sally Field film “Absence of Malice” and a string of films in the ’90s with Tom Cruise in “The Firm”, Harrison Ford in the remake of “Sabrina” and the drama “Random Hearts” and in the 2000s with the Sean Penn and Nicole Kidman film “The Interpreter” and he kept directing before he would pass away in 2008 at the age of 73.
And with so many wonderful films in his oeuvre, there is one film that people have continued to love to this very day and its his 1982 film “Tootsie” starring Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray and the film would also be the debut of actress Geena Davis.
The film was adapted by Larry Gelbart, Barry Levinson, Elaine May and Murray Schisgal from a story by Gelbart and Don McGuire.And would go on to become the second most profitable film of 1982, nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture and would earn Jessica Lange an Oscar for “Best Supporting Actress”. The film would also feature the popular Stephen Bishop song “It Might Be You”.
In 1998, the Library Congress deemed the film “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.
And “Tootsie” has received the Criterion Collection treatment featuring an all new 4K digital restoration and is available on Blu-ray and DVD.
“Tootsie” begins with Michael Dorsey (portrayed by Dustin Hoffman) is an out of work actor, partly because he is a perfectionist and wants things his way and not what the director wants. So, his agent has a difficult time booking him.
So, for now, he teaches a group of actors with their acting, especially his friend, actress Sandy Lester (portrayed by Teri Garr).
As Michael is losing faith of getting a job, he hears from Sandy of how they are hiring for a role for the popular daytime soap opera “Southwest General”. So, Michael decides to dress up like a woman and go for the role of hospital administrator Emily Kimberly, going by the name of Dorothy Michaels.
At first, he gets int a little confrontation with the director Ron Carlisle (portrayed by Dabney Coleman) but when she shows her feminist style and kind of sidestepping what Ron is telling her, and instead of being a female that is weak, she is strong and independent and fortunately the producer Rita Marshall (portrayed by Doris Belack) likes what Rita is bringing to the table and Dorothy is hired.
For Michael, the money he makes on the soap opera can go to help raising money to produce a play by his roommate Jeff Slater (portrayed by Bill Murray), which will star himself and Sandy.
And as he continues to pretend he is Dorothy Michaels, she becomes a hit and is featured on the cover of magazines and meanwhile, he finds himself getting closer to his co-star Julie Nichols (portrayed by Jessica Lange), who is a single mother and in an unhealthy relationship with their director. Meanwhile her father Les (portrayed by Charles Durning) has a crush on Dorothy. As does Emily’s costar John Van Horn (portrayed by George Gaynes).
While Jeff and his agent George Fields (portrayed by Sydney Pollack) are worried that Dorothy’s secret may come out.
How long can Michael/Dorothy continue this ruse?
VIDEO & AUDIO:
“Tootsie” is presented in color (2:40:1 Aspect Ratio). According to the Criterion Collection, the new digital restoration was created in 4K resolution on an Oxberry wet-gate film scanner from the 35 mm original camera negative. The digital restoration was performed by the Prasad Group in Chennai, India.
The film looks absolutely great on DVD, the best I have watched of this film, but if you want the best presentation of this film, then you would want to go purchase the Blu-ray version of this film..
As for audio, the original monaural soundtrack was remastered at 24-bit from the 35 mm magnetic dialogue, music and effects track.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
“Tootsie” comes with the following special features:
- Audio commentary featuring director Sydney Pollack
- New interviews with actor Dustin Hoffman and comedy writer Phil Rosenthal
- Interview with Dorothy Michaels by film critic Gene Shalit
- Making of “Tootsie” (1982) and A Better Man: The Making of “Tootsie” (2007), two documentaries featuring interviews with cast and crew
- Screen and wardrobe test footage
- Deleted scenes and trailers
EXTRAS:
- Comes with a 8-panel fold-out essay by film critic Michael Sragow.
It’s rather interesting how “Tootsie” would become a film. Since the early ’70s, Don McGuire wrote a play, “Would I Lie to You?” about an unemployed actor who cross-dressed to get jobs and while it would eventually become a screenplay thanks to Robert Evans, Dick Richards and Bob Kaufman. Dustin Hoffman was showed the script and agreed to take it on if he was given creative control.
Suffice to say, the film went through different stages of different directors and actors but in the end, Sydney Pollack would get the opportunity to direct the film (and thanks to the cajoling of Hoffman, to have an acting role in the film as well).
The film did amazingly well in the box office for Columbia Pictures, going as far to surpass “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” and in 1982, would earn over $177 million behind Steven Spielberg’s “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”.
I feel that “Tootsie” was a film that was a comedy but also a film that manages touch upon numerous topics, from the life of actors trying to make it in New York City, those who don’t get hired because they are older, a man cross dressing, but primarily a character of a hard-headed actor who refuses to go by the director’s portrayal of a damsel in distress but to show a strong female character that refuses to be weak and taking on sexism.
And needless to say, Michael Dorsey as Dorothy Michaels becomes a national hit as many people gravitated to the character.
There was a depiction of the free thinking, the free spirit of people during a time when people were discovering something new and different, may it be from cinema, music (especially with the popularity of MTV and music videos – Note: 1982 was the year of Michael Jackson’s album “Thriller”), and it’s one of those feel good films that makes you forget about the crap in the world.
But “Tootsie” is no doubt a wonderful comedy and while 1982 was known for the year of “E.T. the Extra Terrestrial”, “Rocky III”, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” and “Poltergeist”, because of Hoffman’s wonderful acting and Sydney Pollack’s directing, “Tootsie” is a film that will hold relevance for many generations to come and will also entertain generations to come.
“Tootsie” is recommended!