- Let's discuss Tootie.
Have%20yourself%20a%20merry%20little%20christmas
- I love Kim Fields.
- Although I enjoyed it tremendously when it came out, I never quite got how an unattractive "actress" was permitted to ad lib her way to soap opera stardom. I also wondered why the experience didn't lead to bigger things for Hoffman's character's career. You'd think he'd get a book deal and a run on the talk show circuits after pulling off a legendary showbiz hoax like that.
- r3 Character career? Have me met?
Rainman
- As I recall Garr's part was rather small.
- I love TOOTSIE, and it's got some of the funniest lines ever uttered on film ("You were a tomato!", "How do you feel about Cleveland?", "You slut."). And I agree with you about Garr. Though she's funny in every scene she's in, it's the same kooky, neurotic blonde schtick she's been doing since her days in sketch comedy -- no great stretch. And it's a superficial role, her character exists simply for laughs and to be the brunt of jokes, but she doesn't really push the story forward -- take the character out and it won't hamper the progression of the story. Jessica Lange's character, however, is the heart of the story. She is the reason Hoffman's character changes from volatile, uncaring actor to sensitive, hopeless romantic, and the way Lange plays it, it's easy to see why he's fallen in love and is willing to change. Her role really is a support[italic]ive[/italic] one as it's pivotal to the progression of the lead's personal story.
- Can't you just reminisce about the last Tootsie thread a year and half ago? Another movie was overrated by DL. It's little more than a sitcom, an ancient one at that, but I'm sure this thing will drag on for over 100 posts.
- r2
Remember when Kim Fields played Mrs Butterworth on a commercial?
- [quote]I also wondered why the experience didn't lead to bigger things for Hoffman's character's career. You'd think he'd get a book deal and a run on the talk show circuits after pulling off a legendary showbiz hoax like that.
It did r3. In the final scene when he waits for Jessica Lange at the stage door and she is so mad she will barely talk to him....she says "you are pretty hot after your big unveiling so what's next for you Michael?"
He says he is going to do Jeff's play with Sandy but the implication is he has a lot of offers.
- poor r7...is bitter and jaded.
- Lange's intensity and hurt in the final scene where she is signing autographs and sees Hoffman waiting for her is quite beautiful.
- Dustin Hoffman and Jessica Lange are both great actors but Tootsie was soooo unbelievably boring. I have never understood its appeal. It is not in the least bit entertaining.
- intelligent people don't get bored r12
http://www.datalounge.com/cgi-bin/iowa/ajax.html%23page:showDirty%2C12528717%2C10927
- R4, I didn't mean Dustin Hoffman's career as a character actor. I meant Michael Dorsey's career. I couldn't recall the name so it's no surprise I forgot the reference R9 provided. I only remember the big laugh it got in the movie theater when they cut to the playhouse in a barn with Return to Love Canal, an obvious comedown for the former cover-girl, Dorothy Michaels.
R3
- One thing that never made sense was at the very end after Michael Dorsey announces who he/she really is, I would think he'd be in such demand and he wouldn't be able to stand alone on a New York street.
- I'm still convinced that Lange got the Best Supporting Oscar as a consolation prize, she was denied a Best Actress for "Frances" that year or the year before. She was good, of course, but it's really just an ordinary "The Girl" role.
Bill Murray was the one who gave a really excellent supporting performance.
- Yes r16 it was a consolation prize because she was nominated that same year for Frances and people were voting for M in Sophie's Choice as lead actress so they gave her the supporting one as a way of saying we liked you in Frances too but we have to vote for Meryl.
My point in rewatching it was that she gave a very nice heartfelt performance. I don't know if she'd have won without the double nominations (Glenn Close probably would or at least should have for Garp) but my point was it was very nice work.
op
- [quote] but it's really just an ordinary "The Girl" role.
Hey, what's wrong with just playing "the girl" role!!!!
Jennifer%20Lawrence
- I was was born to play Tootsie!
Cillian%20Muprhy
- R13
Intelligent people also don't make blanket statements about what intelligent people do or don't do.
- r20 I was teasing you based on the content of the other thread...no hard feelings
r13
- Jeez r20 try to find a sense of humor.
- Yes R13 and I was teasing you back. It's all love dear.
- R22
How about you let me and my boyfriend R13 handle this. We don't need you interfering in our affairs. We don't do threesomes.
Oh and I found my sense of humor just as I posted my response. I thought my it was hilarious.
- Teri Garr at her finest.
- "Does Jeff know?"
- I loved Charles Durning in it and when they meet at the bar and he says he should punch him but won't. It was a sweet movie and even the cheesy song was good.
- One of my favorite movies of all time, genuinely funny. Hoffman and the whole cast were sublime! I own the movie and watch it once or twice year.
Anonymous
- "Michael I beg you, bet therapy!'
Anonymous
- I hated when they made her remove her skates. What really happened that season when Kim Fields got so fat? Was she really pregnant?
- Director Sydney Pollack is also a hoot as Michael Dorsey's long-suffering agent.
- Pollack was such an amazing actor, actually. Love him.
Lange was perfection.
- Go, Tootsie Go!
- Many times a lead actress (like Jessica in Tootsie) will place themselves in the supporting category to better their chances of winning.
Which was Teri Garr's complaint about losing to Jessica Lange
- Jessica played a supporting role. Everyone but Dustin was supporting.
- Bill Murray ad-libbed most of his lines. His name owas not on the posters or in any of the press relases, and he did not appear in the trailers. His appearance in the film was a complete surprise until word of mouth got out.
- I think it's a terrific film and very funny. All you have to do is see how many alleged comedies are not terrific or funny and you can see that it is about as rare as Haley's comet for everything to align just right.
- The only line I felt didn't work was "Being a woman in the 80s is so complicated." Sure, it was directed at Dorothy which made it funny but it didn't seem like something Lange would say.
- Some nice on set photos by Mary Ellen Mark, including from "Tootsie".
http://everyday-i-show.livejournal.com/193095.html
- Yeah, Dabney Coleman had a nice ass. The only time I ever saw him shirtless though was on an episode of "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Nice body.
- Was she the fat one or the colored girl who roller skated everywhere?
- Michael i begged u to get some therapy!
I gave the chocolates to a girl.
So did i, i thought!
Lmao
- [quote] Jessica played a supporting role. Everyone but Dustin was supporting.
The only star in a Dustin Hoffman show....is Dustin Hoffman!
Helen%20Lawson%2C%20resting%20her%20ashtray%20on%20Dustin%27s%20head
- If this movie came out today Jessica Lange would be called fat.
Jennifer%20Lawrence%2C%20off%20her%20Oscar%20diet%20and%20eating%20Domino%27s
- No she wouldn't Jen r44, unlike yourself, she is a beautiful woman.
- Watching it again, it is just too unbelievable that no one would've figured out the Dorothy was a man in drag! And the thing about Michael getting away with doing his own makeup at home because of an "allergy", don't they have union rules on the set which wouldn't allow for that? I do enjoy the movie though.
- Did someone call for That Girl?
Marlo%20T.
- As much as I love Jessica Lange, Teri Garr stole this film outright.
It wasn't too long after Garr's under-appreciated performance as Dreyfuss's wife in "Close Encounters," right?
Teri Garr is one of the greats whose career stalled too long ago...I know she's been ill. God bless that funny and talented woman.
Also, Bill Murray was at his his best as Hoffmann's roommate her. Understated but hilarious
- Bi female here - watching "Tootsie" when it came out in the '80s made me aware of feelings for women for the first time. I was 14, and Jessica Lange was just so gorgeous, sexy, and sensitive.
I still really like the film, but does anyone else feel that Lange's line to Dorothy "I love you, but I just can't LOVE you" is rather naff; when Dorothy reveals that he's actually Michael Dorsey, a man, it's now fine for her to waltz off with him into the sunset. Perhaps they could have explored more the theme of falling in love with the person, and not just the gender.
- [quote] Perhaps they could have explored more the theme of falling in love with the person, and not just the gender.
We're talking about a mainstream comedy (albeit with a bloke in drag) from the early 1980s. It wasn't an art house film exploring gender issues.
- R48 - Agree about Teri Garr.
- Meet Teri Garr and you will quickly find out why her career stalled.
"You're nothing like you are in your movies, are you." - David Russell, dismissing her after five minutes. My sentiments exactly!
the%20anti-Garr%20guy
- Teri was fun on Letterman.
- God forbid you should lose your standing as a cult failure.
- R46,
Dorothy looked just like my Aunt Mary....complete with heavy makeup. My aunt work it to cover bad acne scars.
- [quote] And the thing about Michael getting away with doing his own makeup at home because of an "allergy", don't they have union rules on the set which wouldn't allow for that?
true r46 that is a reach...having done a few soap appearances in my day I know the wardrobe people are constantly rushing in to fix and primp your clothes and smooth things out, retuck your shirt, fix your hair etc. In reality some wardrobe girl would have accidentally grabbed Dustin's fake boobs inadvertently.
- Dabney Coleman nude in Modern Problems is one of the hilights of film history.....any one have a link?
- I loved Tootsie! I'm from Syracuse, and being that not much is ever heard about Syracuse other than snow, or basketball it was really fun to hear them talk about my little obscure, rusty hometown. Then when they finally show the Syracuse Playhouse- it's in a barn! So disappointing yet hilarious! Typical of the New Yorker's vision of Upstate.
- I was in it too!
Ellen%20Foley
- So was I!
Dorothy%27s%20sister%20Gloria%20%28the%20first%20one%29
- I'm dead, sadly.
The%20executive%20producer%20of%20Southwest%20General
- r. 46 & 56, it's not a reach. Plenty of actors have allergic reactions to stage makeup and either provide their own or do their own makeup at home. It's actually quite common.
- That is one nutty hospital!
- [quote]Everyone but Dustin was supporting.
I remember back in '82, the Oscar campaign directed at those who claimed Jessica Lange was the movie's leading lady:
"No, Dorothy Michaels is the movie's leading lady."
And yes, you have to suspend disbelief. Forget the people who can feel the stubs on his face, his fake tits, etc. I don't clearly remember, but was the whole SAG membership issue addressed? Was Dorothy's an open audition and then she joined SAG under that name? And what ID did "she" produce when she joined the union?
Actually, I'm a member of Equity and I don't even remember if I had to produce any ID. And since you can join under any stage name, maybe she was given a pass.
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- Julie Nichols would be considered a coward in the lesbian community nowadays.
Sarah Paulson
- Huh?
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- Dustin Hoffman's female stand-in for when Michael was Dorothy actually became his full-time stand-in on all of his subsequent movies and also one of his production assistants.
- I always thought being a stand-in would be a cool job.
Long hours, you're a step above background, great good, and I bet there are some perks.
I'd like to think stars would be loyal to a good stand in.
- It wwasn't half as good as Mrs. Doubtfire.
- Great food.
Plus, you work on a long movie shoot for a few months and with overtime, you might be able to have some free time until the next project begins.
And being in tight with a major star could open some doors for the future.
R68
- There are not many stand-ins who have that sort of deal where they're on a weekly contract as opposed to a daily voucher, though. Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, John Travolta, Matt Damon, Leonardo DiCaprio and Will Smith are the only major stars I can think of. And no women at all have the power to get their stand-ins on a contract. It seems with the guys it's a buddy thing-and, maybe with Travolta, something more.i
- but r62...nowadays you need hi-def makeup....I guess back then maybe it was more believable...but it's is just a premise you have to buy to enjoy the movie....let's face it in real life if Hoffman showed up looking like that everyone would say...look there is a guy in a dress and wig...
- r64...I don't clearly remember, but was the whole SAG membership issue addressed? Was Dorothy's an open audition and then she joined SAG under that name? And what ID did "she" produce when she joined the union?
He gets the audition just by showing up and saying he forgot his paper work or something like that but that Sydney Pollack is his agent to which the woman from the soap says wow, quite impressiveness.
It is sort of implied that he gets Pollack to take care of the paperwork. (in the Russian Tea Room scene) They must do something illegal because Pollack even as big a deal as he is supposed to be...is still afraid of getting caught at the end when Dorothy's contract is picked up.
- Article from back in the day.
http://www.nytimes.com/1982/07/13/movies/tootsie-a-woman-who-is-dustin-hoffman.html%3Fpagewanted%3Dall
- R71, yeah, I was thinking the high end, rare cases...I know that the job usually isn't great fun: daily vouchers, sex-starved a.d.'s, long food lines.
- [quote]Dabney Coleman nude in Modern Problems is one of the hilights of film history.....any one have a link?
I agree.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-scQV1fvACOM/TewWxJeFblI/AAAAAAAADac/xDCYOKcy46A/s1600/20090103_DabneyColeman.jpg
- About 20 years ago I worked with a woman who looked like Dustin as Dorothy. I shared a cubicle with a guy who would sing "Something's Telling Me it Might Be You" everytime she walked by.
Emily%20Kimberly
- I agree with the poster who said it was wholly unbelieveable that anyone would not have instantly seen that Dorothy Michaels was a man in drag. Yes, I know movies are about the suspension of disbelief. But when the entire PREMISE of the movie is that a guy is trying to fool people into thinking he is a real woman, well, it just never worked for me. I thought it was a Hoffman vanity project. I did not have one genuine laugh during the entire movie. I "got" it, got what they were trying to do but it never worked for me. I remember all the articles and interviews with Hoffman where he expressed his empathy and support for women and that portraying one "gave him new respect for women," that it made him a better man, etc. etc. Again, it was all Hoffman's vanity project. SEE WHAT A BRILLIANT ACTOR I AM. And, yes, he is in the right role. But this movie was just stupid in so many respects. "America's favorite Tootsie is on a roll." Really? Just looks like Dustin Hoffman in drag to me.
- "I was a better man as a man pretending to be a woman than I ever was as a man, blah, blah, blah"
Barf.
- I loved the movie, but wasn't too crazy about Hoffman's interpretation. The stupidest thing a man can do when impersonating a woman is go into a clown-like falsetto. First it's insulting and second it's amateurish, as the falsetto is very limited in range and volume and hardly makes a guy sound like a woman, but more like a guy imitating a woman.
It's much more effective to use your natural upper register and accompany it by female mannerisms, to whatever degree you want your woman to be feminine. Find that range where a man's voice meets a woman's, it's not that hard. Play a tape of a woman talking and join her in her key and octave. I know Hoffman has a pretty deep voice, but it's not "Ol' Man River" deep. And I'm sure even good ol' Paul Robeson would have been able to find a more female sounding upper range.
That's one of the reasons Jack Lemmon was so much better than Tony Curtis in "Some Like It Hot" (other than Mr. Lemmon being one of the greatest actors in the history of Cinema).
And if Alaska Thunderfuck - with her deep bass - can sound like a girl, even Dustin Hoffman can.
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- Hoffman really loved his character and regretted that he couldn't make Dorothy more attractive.
- As a videotaped soap in 1982 or so, wouldn't the hospital show be under an AFTRA contract anyway? Much easier to sidestep that whole membership thing. (just curious)
- The cutting edge relevance of DataLounge never fails to amaze me.
- Well smell you r83...aren't you just so superior!
- true r82 soaps were always under AFTRA
- What a fun year for movies. I didn't know Lesly Ann Warren was nominated for V/V. Nominations and winners for 1982 Oscars:
http://boxofficemojo.com/oscar/chart/%3Fview%3Dallcategories%26yr%3D1982
- I wonder if Michael and Julie got married.
- Leslie Ann Warren was hysterical in V/V.
"Oh, pookie!?" and "I'm horny!" in that horrible nasal accent.
- "I wonder if Michael and Julie got married."
No, once she got to know the real Michael she realized he was still pompous, self-absorbed, humorless, and tempermental. He may have improved, but how much can you improve a guy like that.
- If the roles in Tootsie had been gender-reversed, who would the actors have been? Say that the lead character was Dorothy Michaels and she had to pretend to be a man (Michael Dorsey) to get a part on a soap, and she fell in love with a male actor on the show, only the male actor thinks our hero is a mo. Instead of Dustin and Jessica, who do we get? From 1982, how about the Keatons, Diane and Michael?
- [quote]No, once she got to know the real Michael she realized he was still pompous, self-absorbed, humorless, and tempermental. He may have improved, but how much can you improve a guy like that.
and short too.
Julie
- R90, Julie Andrews and James Garner, with Blake Edwards direc.... hey, wait a minute...
- Avigdor wait!
