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Tootsie

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

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

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?

The 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.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Sydney Pollack

Written by

Larry Gelbart · Murray Schisgal · Don McGuire

Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman

Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels

Jessica Lange

Jessica Lange

Julie Nichols

Teri Garr

Teri Garr

Sandy Lester

Dabney Coleman

Dabney Coleman

Ron Carlisle

Charles Durning

Charles Durning

Les Nichols

Bill Murray

Bill Murray

Jeff Slater

Sydney Pollack

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 defence The Sentimental Softie

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

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.