Review 323: Tootsie

Tootsie is hysterical and remarkable comedy and one of Sydney Pollack's best movies. It is also a insightful movie on different sexes.

Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is a dedicated actor with a reputation for being difficult. After being hostile to nearly every producer in New York, nobody will hire him. But Michael is desperate for work and isn't going to go down without a fight, so poses as a middle aged woman named Dorothy Michaels and lands a part on a TV Soap Opera where he is so successful he develops a fan base. But the old phrase "be careful what you wish for" comes to mind: once Dorsey/Michael was desperate for any part as long as it was work. Now he is desperate to get out of his contract which the studio is keen to renew. But how?

The plot is keeps you high on laughter almost every minute. For starters, the alter ego of Dorothy Michaels is really convincing. This is because ironically, not only is Michael Dorsey playing a woman but he does it so well that the character takes on a life of its own and becomes a role model for younger women because of her straight talking sense of fair play. Ironically

Director Sydney Pollack's direction is