What do Midnight Cowboy, Kramer vs Kramer and the Graduate have in common, if you don't know already because you haven't seen any of those films, and then you my friend are in bad need of Netflix, otherwise as you are going to go through life always feeling like that there is a small part of you missing. What those films all have in common is the fantastic, electrifying and unpredictable acting juggernaut that is Dustin Hoffman. Claiming to love cinema and at the same time not having seen a Hoffman film, would be like going to Disney land and not seeing Mickey Mouse or meeting the President of America and not asking him if area 51 exits, because it simply means you're missing put on the best part!
The multitalented Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa) directs this transvestite-tastic comedy caper about a talented actor called Michael (Dustin Hoffman) who lives in new York, but despite his years of experience still can't land a gig because he thinks he knows better than everyone else, so one day to boost his chances of success he decides to adopts an identity as a women to gain a role in a local TV soap opera, oh damn I mean day time drama, going by the name of Dorothy, much to the bemusement of his house mate Jeff (Bill Murray) and his agent George (Sidney Pollack). Things start of great, Dorothy proves to be an instant hit on the show; she is loud, confident and vivacious, much to enjoyment of all the female fans of the show, whilst being to the annoyance of her womanising director Ron. But things quickly get a whole lot more complicated as a massive love triangle, with his fellow cast members and best friend soon manifests itself with the potential of creating a lot of broken hearts.
Clearly in the same mould as Some Like it Hot, where cross dressing is involved, but while SLH nailed the love triangles with such humorous precision, I felt the ones in Tootsie were far too complicated and drawn out as if the writers ran out of material and used them as filler for dead space. I also didn't like how the most entertaining characters were marginalised, they had a great comedic weapon in Bill Murray yet they refused to exploit for all its laugh inducing potential and I would have preferred to have seen a whole lot more of Sandy. Ultimately I felt the film was just another imitator of SLH, although competent in its own right, it just didn't give you anything fresh and unique. Not the best of Hoffman's CV, but certainly way above the worst (cough, cough Meet the Fockers and Runaway Jury)
The multitalented Sydney Pollack (Out of Africa) directs this transvestite-tastic comedy caper about a talented actor called Michael (Dustin Hoffman) who lives in new York, but despite his years of experience still can't land a gig because he thinks he knows better than everyone else, so one day to boost his chances of success he decides to adopts an identity as a women to gain a role in a local TV soap opera, oh damn I mean day time drama, going by the name of Dorothy, much to the bemusement of his house mate Jeff (Bill Murray) and his agent George (Sidney Pollack). Things start of great, Dorothy proves to be an instant hit on the show; she is loud, confident and vivacious, much to enjoyment of all the female fans of the show, whilst being to the annoyance of her womanising director Ron. But things quickly get a whole lot more complicated as a massive love triangle, with his fellow cast members and best friend soon manifests itself with the potential of creating a lot of broken hearts.
Clearly in the same mould as Some Like it Hot, where cross dressing is involved, but while SLH nailed the love triangles with such humorous precision, I felt the ones in Tootsie were far too complicated and drawn out as if the writers ran out of material and used them as filler for dead space. I also didn't like how the most entertaining characters were marginalised, they had a great comedic weapon in Bill Murray yet they refused to exploit for all its laugh inducing potential and I would have preferred to have seen a whole lot more of Sandy. Ultimately I felt the film was just another imitator of SLH, although competent in its own right, it just didn't give you anything fresh and unique. Not the best of Hoffman's CV, but certainly way above the worst (cough, cough Meet the Fockers and Runaway Jury)