About a 4-minute read
I do not get around to watching as many movies as I want or used to. There are a couple of reasons for this. One, the days are shorter. Not physically shorter, obviously, but the amount of usable time outside of daily responsibilities continues decreasing. This makes squeezing in a movie, especially anything longer than ninety minutes, difficult. Two, the quantity of productions today is overwhelming. The quality of productions, however, is not. Streaming services shovel out movies and shows with increasing frequency, and despite star power and generally impressive production quality, they can feel disjointed and half-baked. When a picture lands on the big screen, I seldom feel the excitement for the experience of seeing it. Even then, there have been more disappointing decent movies than marvels. So, I return to the AFI Top 100 in hopes of being able to enjoy a movie again, and next on the list at #69 is Tootsie.
Popping in Tootsie and letting the 1980s Americana of New York City wash over me was refreshing, like stepping outside on a cool and crisp fall morning. The general look of 80s movies is magnetic, where the cinematography has a softness that allows the actors to stand out, and those same actors buoy one another to screen-grabbing performances. They are worth paying attention to and caring about. I think the 1980s being on the cusp of technology revolutions, in the world and in cinema, creates a perfectly encapsulated world where characters have to work to stay connected, the world still feels big and mysterious, and what the actors interact with on screen is real with a physical presence.
Tootsie taps into the aura of 1980s New York City with immersive effect. The city is chaotically crowded with so many people trying to make their way in an environment devoid of handouts. There is a clash of urban identities: the shiny modernity where money lives, butting against darkened, neglected neighborhoods where inhabitants face the tedious pursuit of economic comfort. Tootsie’s characters take on this divide as their personalities. There are those with money who focus on maintaining appearances and enjoying the benefits of their good fortune. Conversely, there are struggling actors who face a daily decision to continue pursuing their dreams or accepting their present reality and finding other work.
That is where we find our main character, Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman). Dorsey is a hard-headed actor struggling to find meaningful work. To help his roommate, friend, and playwright, Jeff (Bill Murray), put on a new play, Michael tries to land work any way he can, which results in him doing a Mrs. Doubtfire routine (before Mrs. Doubtfire was a thing) as Dorothy Michaels, landing a role on a daytime soap opera. Dorsey’s, or Dorothy’s, altruistic motive for maintaining the charade is questionable, as he uses his presence as Dorothy to get closer to soap opera co-star Julie (Jessica Lange), all while leading on a relationship with another woman, Sandy (Teri Garr). The love triangle/cross-dressing cocktail leads to a handful of comedic entanglements while also showing heart in the way each character must assess themselves and the role they play in one another’s lives. There is an earnestness in the characters’ personal journeys and their interactions, and the film provides moments of levity between the dramatic and comedic pillars for the audience to breathe and simply enjoy the performances and story.
Tootsie looks, flows, and entertains in a way that creates a visual and cerebral treat that feels shorter than its nearly two-hour runtime. I sat on this movie for a long time, thinking Tootsie would be a chore to get through. I can safely say that was a mistake. This is exactly the movie I needed to cleanse my palate of modern cinematic letdowns. I loved the cast. I enjoyed the direction. And I appreciated the way Tootsie made me feel. This film is a classic that stays true to itself throughout, so I can see (and agree) why it lands at #69.
HobbyScope 