The defence The Sentimental Softie
“Sincerity is not manipulation.”
The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.
Back to trending 
Tootsie
Comedy · Romance · 1982
When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego—Dorothy Michaels—in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.
Movie details
Tootsie
“What do you get when you cross a hopelessly straight starving actor with a dynamite red sequined dress? You get America's hottest new actress.”
1982 Comedy · Romance 1h 56m
Critical arithmetic
The consensus, allegedly.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
IMDb
7.4 / 10
124.1K votes
Rotten Tomatoes
91 %
Tomatometer
Metacritic
88 / 100
Metascore
TMDB
7.2 / 10
Community rating
External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.
When struggling, out of work actor Michael Dorsey secretly adopts a female alter ego—Dorothy Michaels—in order to land a part in a daytime drama, he unwittingly becomes a feminist icon and ends up in a romantic pickle.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Tootsie?
For the defence
The Sentimental Softie
“You came to feel something, and you will.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Cool Ironist
“Feeling things is a little embarrassing.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
My Sassy Girl
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A guy has his life planned out until he is wooed, groomed and then dumped by an elusive woman.
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A high-strung news producer finds herself in a love triangle between a talented but self-doubting reporter and a charming news anchor who embodies the growing trivialization of news that she is determined to fight against.
She's Gotta Have It
Comedy · 1986
The story of Nola Darling's simultaneous sexual relationships with three different men is told by her and by her partners and other friends. All three men wanted her to commit solely to them; Nola resists being "owned" by a single partner.
No Hard Feelings
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On the brink of losing her childhood home, Maddie discovers an intriguing job listing: wealthy helicopter parents looking for someone to “date” their introverted 19-year-old son, Percy, before he leaves for college. To her surprise, Maddie soon discovers the awkward Percy is no sure thing.
One Night Only
Romance · 2026
Two love-starved strangers crash into each other on the one night of the year when single people are allowed to have sex.
Romance & Cigarettes
Comedy · 2006
Ironworker Nick lives with his wife, Kitty, and three daughters. When he meets a significantly younger woman, Tula, he starts an affair with her, much to the chagrin of his wife, and his life is thrown into upheaval. Kitty kicks Nick out of the house, and he is forced to make some difficult decisions.
Someone Great
Comedy · 2019
An aspiring music journalist lands her dream job and is about to move to San Francisco when her boyfriend of nine years decides to call it quits. To nurse her broken heart, she and her two best friends spend one outrageous last adventure in New York City.
Sleeping with Other People
Comedy · 2015
Can two serial cheaters get a second chance at love? After a one-night stand in college, New Yorkers Lainey and Jake meet by chance twelve years later and discover they each have the same problem: because of their monogamy-challenged ways, neither can maintain a relationship. Determined to stay friends despite their mutual attraction, they make a pact to keep it platonic, a deal that proves easier said than done.
Can't Hardly Wait
Comedy · 1998
It's graduation day at Huntington Hills High, and you know what that means - time to party. And not just any party, either. This one will be a night to remember, as the nerds become studs, the jocks are humiliated, and freshman crushes blossom into grown-up romance.
The Perfect Find
Romance · 2023
After a high-profile firing, everything is at stake for 40-year-old Jenna: her career, her ticking biological clock, and her bank account. Her fashion career comeback hits a snag when she falls for a charming, much younger coworker — who happens to be her boss’s son. As sparks fly, Jenna must decide if she’ll risk it all on a secret romance with the one person who could destroy her comeback.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Sydney Pollack
Written by
Larry Gelbart · Murray Schisgal · Don McGuire · Elaine May
Dustin Hoffman
Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels
Jessica Lange
Julie Nichols
Teri Garr
Sandy Lester
Dabney Coleman
Ron Carlisle
Charles Durning
Les Nichols
Bill Murray
Jeff Slater
Sydney Pollack
George Fields
Court is in session
Put Tootsie on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Cool Ironist
“The strings are showing.”
Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.