If someone ever wanted to write a textbook on how to make the perfect movie comedy, this film should be the number one reference point. The 1982 film TOOTSIE became an instant classic and is just as funny twenty-three years later as it was at the time of initial release. I love this movie because, like THE WIZARD OF OZ, no matter how many times I watch it, I always see something I never noticed before. Sidney Pollack's inspired direction (and those who know Hoffman, know he probably "collaborated" with Pollack)perfectly brought together all the elements of this winning story about an unemployed actor/acting teacher/waiter named Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) who, despite being a wonderful actor, cannot get work as he has earned a reputation for being "difficult." Desperate to earn $8000.00 in order to produce a play that his roommate (Bill Murray) wrote, he dresses in drag and auditions for a role on a soap opera and actually gets the part. Complications ensue when he falls in love with the soap's leading lady (Jessica Lange), butts head with the soap's creepy director (Dabney Coleman), and has to hide what he's doing from his neurotic friend (Teri Garr, in a performance that should have won her the Oscar)who also auditioned for the soap role he got, a ruse that has the woman convinced Michael is gay. And if that weren't enough, Lange's father, played by the always solid Charles Durning, falls in love with Michael's female alter ego, Dorothy Michaels. Everything works in this film. Towering above everything is the amazing performance by Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey/Dorothy Michaels. Unlike Julie Andrews in VICTOR/VICTORIA, Hoffman is completely believable as a woman. As a matter of fact, his screen time as Dorothy is the strongest part of his performance. Jessica Lange is a charming leading lady (though I still think the Best Supporting Actress Oscar should have gone to Garr, not Lange)and even director Pollack makes his scenes count as Michael's agent George Fields. This film demands and deserves multiple viewings and will always be considered a benchmark of American film comedy.
