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What’s the Story?

Reviewed by Kelly Kessler

TOOTSIE follows the story of Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman), an out-of-work and disagreeable New York actor who disguises himself as a woman to win a plumb role in a daytime soap opera. Ultimately, Michael gets more than a steady paying job. The nation embraces his screen alter-ego Dorothy as a strong female role model. Michael quickly learns a little about what life is like for the opposite sex. As he melds his adversarial demeanor with Dorothy's on- and off-screen personae, he simultaneously finds his womanhood, manhood, and love.

Is It Any Good?

4

Before Mrs. Doubtfire donned a dress, Dustin Hoffman made a splash on the big screen as Dorothy Michaels (née Michael Dorsey) in Tootsie. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards (including a win for Jessica Lange), the comedy entered into the feminist fray at the height of the push for the Equal Rights Amendment.

Tootsie is a raucously funny, yet touching film (that includes one of the best uses of a corncob in the history of motion pictures). Aside from classic performances by Hoffman, Lange, and Teri Garr, the film features underrated turns by Bill Murray as Michael's playwright roommate and Charles Durning as a man bitten by Dorothy's feminine wiles. The humor and subject matter stand the test of time quite well. It's truly worth watching for teens and adults.

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