Tootsie (1982)

Part of the Reel-In Str8 Cis Film Fest, presented by Reelout, Kingston’s vibrant 2SLGBTQ+ Film Fest. Watch the series trailer!

An unsuccessful actor disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.

Notes from the series programmer, Matt Salton:

Nominated for a whopping 10 Academy Awards and a win for Jessica Lange in the Best Actress in a Supporting Role category. Dustin Hoffman plays Michael Dorsey, an ambitious New York actor and acting coach with a temperamental stubborn streak that has effectively tarnished his reputation and has led to no one wanting to cast him. Through a series of circumstances, Dorsey disguises himself as Dorothy Michaels (get it?) to audition for a minor contract role on a popular daytime soap opera, Southwest General, as Emily Kimberly, the new hospital administrator.  Dorsey wins the role and decides to carry on the ruse so that he has enough money to produce his roommate Jeff’s (Bill Murray) play which would also land his good friend Sandy (Terri Garr) a juicy role. Only Jeff and Dorsey’s agent (played by the director, Sydney Pollack) know that Dorothy is actually a man.  On set, Dorsey quickly realizes what it’s like to be a woman in a highly chauvinistic industry and befriends Jessica Lange’s character, Julie, who plays the daytime drama’s “slutty nurse” character.  Julie sees Dorothy as a wise and maternal new friend but Michael struggles to stay in character when he begins to fall in love with Julie. But as secrets continue to mount, the character of Emily Kimberly becomes a huge hit with the soap’s fanbase thanks in large part to Dorsey veering off the poorly written script and improvising some juicy bon mots and Dorothy Michaels is suddenly America’s feisty and feminist darling.  How can Dorsey continue to conceal his true identity without betraying those he loves most, not to mention an entire demographic who feel empowered by his female personae?

Tootsie is one of the best films about a straight, cisgender man posing as a woman. Despite the campy setup, Pollack grounds the comedy in realism.  The worlds of struggling New York City actors and that of the cast and crew on Southwest General feel fully-realized and grounded and while initially the drag trope is used for some low-hanging gags, Michael develops a reverence for Dorothy and for women in general.  This film should garner empathy specifically for trans women who have experienced misogyny for the first time once they’ve begun their transition journeys and heavily subscribes to the adage that in order to understand someone, you must walk a mile in their shoes.