738 Tootsie

[swo17]

Tootsie



In Tootsie, the character Michael Dorsey lands the role of a lifetime—as does the actor playing him, Dustin Hoffman. This multilayered comedy from director Sydney Pollack follows the increasingly elaborate deception of a down-on-his-luck New York actor who disguises himself as a woman to get a coveted soap opera gig; while his female persona skyrockets to fame, he finds himself learning to be a better man. Hoffman's ball-busting yet disarmingly sweet Dorothy Michaels is a sensational comic creation, given support by a stellar cast including Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Teri Garr, George Gaynes, Bill Murray, and, in her first Oscar-winning role, Jessica Lange. Imbued with poignant drama, Tootsie is a funny and cutting film from an American moment defined by shifting social and sexual identities.

SPECIAL FEATURES

• New 4K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
• Audio commentary featuring director Sydney Pollack, taken from Criterion's 1991 laserdisc edition of the film
• New interviews with actor Dustin Hoffman and comedy writer Phil Rosenthal
• Interview with Dorothy Michaels by film critic Gene Shalit, from the film's production
• Making of "Tootsie," a 1982 documentary directed by Rocky Lang
• A Better Man: The Making of "Tootsie," a 2007 documentary directed by Charles Kiselyak and featuring interviews with Pollack; actors Dabney Coleman, Teri Garr, Hoffman, and Jessica Lange; and writers Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal
• Screen and wardrobe test footage of Hoffman
• Deleted scenes and trailers
• PLUS: An essay by critic Michael Sragow

Criterionforum.org user rating averages

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[domino harvey]

Regardless of what one thinks (Or if you're David Bordwell and everyone you have ever met loves this film, never mind) of the movie, it will undoubtedly make Criterion more money than anything else they'll release this year, which increases the odds of something I like getting a nice treatment in the future. Thus ends the full extent of well wishes I'm prepared to extend to this horrendous travesty of cinema.

[hearthesilence]

Voted the second best comedy of all-time....by the AFI.

[domino harvey]

Well, in that case I rescind my comments. It's a masterpiece!

[flyonthewall2983]

Surprised it's just in mono. Didn't realize movies of that budget/caliber were still being mixed that way in 1982.

[FrauBlucher]

horrendous travesty of cinema.

I Don't remember you unleashing anything so vitriolic about It's a Mad, Mad, Mad World.

[domino harvey]

It's complicated: The release itself of Mad World is far worse, as it will be representative of Classic Era Hollywood to a lot of people just getting into movies thanks to Criterion releasing it, and they will walk away from it with the worst idea of what movies from that era were like. This is Tootsie, a mainstream comedy pretty much everyone has seen but almost no one engages with how problematic its central conceit and subsequent phony progressiveness is. I think Tootsie's a worse film, but Mad World is a worse release for Criterion. I would also much rather watch Tootsie again despite liking it less because I can engage with it on a level of active viewing, so it's got that going for it too.

[swo17]

I would also much rather watch Tootsie again despite liking it less because I can engage with it on a level of active viewing, so it's got that going for it too.

I suspect this is what you're getting at, but how do you feel about the film's sense of comedy? I know you find the film's politics repellent, but does this prevent you from enjoying the setup and execution of a good joke? Because I think the film is often very funny, and that it takes place in enough of a fantasy world that it doesn't bother me as much that Hoffman's character is almost irredeemably selfish throughout the film, or that Lange's character is too dim to realize this. In other words, I consider these weaknesses of the film, but not debilitating ones.

[domino harvey]

Honestly, if I thought it was funnier, I might be more forgiving of some of its flaws. It didn't do anything for me, though your defense of it being a exemplar comedy is a common one. Jessica Lange's really the only one in the film who comes out unscathed for me, though it's important to remember that her Oscar for this film was as much an Oscar for Frances that year, which she couldn't win against Streep in Sophie's Choice

[StevenJ0001]

...but almost no one engages with how problematic its central conceit and subsequent phony progressiveness is...

Could you sum up your objections in a nutshell? I always found it to be fairly innocuous, but maybe I'm missing something. :-k

[domino harvey]

My initial comments on the film from the previous 80s List Thread:

Saw Tootsie for the first time and what a tremendously bad film this is! As a comedy, it never had a single moment worth even a smile, and as a bonus it featured some of the most abominable morals I've come across in a long long time. Besides the "men dressing like women and kissing men is hilarious" garbage, Hoffman's character emotionally rapes Lange and leads Durning and Garr on in a way that only highlights how these three are actual characters being taken in by Hoffman's smug cipher-- and the movie thinks Hoffman is in the right here? That it tries to counter this with his Dorothy character "empowering" women only underscores how abhorrent and regressive his real-life actions are towards women. Amazingly, this irony isn't really addressed by the film except with glib asides where he goes "Yeah I'm awful" in a way that makes sure the audience knows he's really the bee's knees. And he ultimately learns his lesson how, by realizing given time, everyone will just shrug their shoulders and go "Well, he betrayed all our trust on a basic level but gosh that transvestite was simply too fantastic to stay mad at!" This is really one of the most popular comedies of all time?

[StevenJ0001]

Hmmm, food for thought--thanks! I find the film very funny and engaging myself, but you make some really interesting points that I'll be keeping in mind on my next viewing.

[JimmyTango]

April fools... oh wait it's August.

[hearthesilence]

I don't put much stock in AFI poll results.

Dave Kehr echoed some of your thoughts in his original review for The Chicago Reader:

With most of the humor predicated on homosexual panic, this Dustin Hoffman drag comedy plays like the reactionary inverse of Blake Edwards's Victor/Victoria: it's a film about sex roles that upholds and solidifies strict polarities, styled as safe situation comedy rather than Edwards's rousing, vulgar farce. Just as Kramer vs. Kramer carried the subliminal point that fathers make the best mothers, so does Tootsie (1982) suggest that men—given the chance—make the best women. As an unsuccessful actor who lands a female part on a soap opera, Hoffman learns a firsthand lesson in chauvinism, an experience that allows him to lecture his costars—Jessica Lange, Teri Garr—on women's rights. Sydney Pollack's professional direction gives the choppy, errant material the appearance of smoothness and integrity, and there are several solid laughs and some excellent supporting performances. But this is a film to be wary of.

[henry001]

It's complicated: The release itself of Mad World is far worse, as it will be representative of Classic Era Hollywood to a lot of people just getting into movies thanks to Criterion releasing it, and they will walk away from it with the worst idea of what movies from that era were like. This is Tootsie, a mainstream comedy pretty much everyone has seen but almost no one engages with how problematic its central conceit and subsequent phony progressiveness is. I think Tootsie's a worse film, but Mad World is a worse release for Criterion. I would also much rather watch Tootsie again despite liking it less because I can engage with it on a level of active viewing, so it's got that going for it too.

I agree with you that Mad World and Tootsie are bad selection for Criterion, and these films are not only boring and they are not funny at all. I begin to think that Tootsie and It happened one Night are merely winks to Sonny, its new distributor.

[jsteffe]

Domino Harvey and Dave Kehr sum up my objections to Tootsie, though frankly now I find it more blandly forgettable than objectionable. It also has an annoying score.

[FrauBlucher]

I begin to think that Tootsie and It happened one Night are merely winks to Sonny, its new distributor.

As for Tootsie, this not entirely true. Criterion released this on Laserdisc. So, Becker or somone else must have a fondness for this film. And, I would hate to think that It Happened One Night, one of the great screwball comedies, which is a genre that CC has a soft spot for, is a favor to SONY.

[christopher_NOBODY]

Looks like Tootsie has been delayed until December 16th. On the bright side though, the Dustin Hoffman interview is once again listed under special features. There was a picture from said email posted on their instagram last night if anyone missed it.

[Jeff]

Looks like Tootsie has been delayed until December 16th. On the bright side though, the Dustin Hoffman interview is once again listed under special features. There was a picture from said email posted on their instagram last night if anyone missed it.

This should put Midnight Cowboy back on track too.

[domino harvey]

Does this make December a better or worse release month?

[ianungstad]

Hoffman had (has?) throat cancer. I'm not sure of the mortality rate for that specific form of cancer but it's pretty awesome that both Dustin Hoffman and Michael Douglas have bounced back the way they have from such a terrible illness.

[manicsounds]

bluraydefinition review

[Minkin]

Blu-ray.com review

[theflirtydozen]

Blu-ray.com review

Three 5/5 scores and then a 4/5 overall? I'm pretty new to this, but is this typical practice of blu-ray.com? I thought this was just a review on the technical aspects of the disc.

[mfunk9786]

Nope! They've got a steadfast commitment to letting us know what their reviewers think of the films, which is completely useless information.