One Nutty Hospital, by Tyler Smith

TOOTSIE (1982)
Directed by: Sydney Pollack
Written by: Larry Gelbart and Don Maguire
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Charles Durning, Teri Garr

In the past, people have come up to me and commented on how few comedies there are on my DVD shelf. It is very strange, considering how much I love a good comedy. But, it’s true. Many movies on my shelf, while technically comedies, can be found in the “Drama” section of your local Blockbuster. These include Sideways, Gosford Park, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

It would seem that the comedies I really respond to have a little bit more to them. They often involve deep self-discovery, which is inherently dramatic. However, if one really thinks about it, there is almost just as much comedic potential in self-discovery as dramatic. Look at coming-of-age movies; half the time, they’re about the difficulties in growing up, the other half, they’re about wacky sexual situations.

Usually, the movies that really stick with me are the ones that try to realize both the dramatic and comedic possibilities within a given situation. Tootsie, directed by Sydney Pollack, is just such a film.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. How could a farce about a man who dresses like a woman be that deep? The key is that the man, played by Dustin Hoffman, is not dressing like a woman to fulfill some deep emotional need. He is not looking to embark on a journey of self-discovery. His character is far too shallow for that. In fact, the character of Michael Dorsey is a very stereotypical man. He is egotistical, non-commital, and obsessed with his work.

It is this last trait that drives Michael to acting like a woman. He is an actor who can’t find any work, so he tries his hand at being an actress. Thus, Michael Dorsey becomes Dorothy Michaels. He auditions for a role on a soap opera and snares it. But, there’s more to this than Michael anticipates. As acting can be a particularly social career, Michael must interact with real people as Dorothy.

All of a sudden, Michael starts to not only sympathize more with women, but with other people. Somehow, people just like to open up to Dorothy, male and female. The saddest, and most eye-opening, is when Michael (as Dorothy) finds himself face-to-face with a man exactly like he is; chauvinistic and selfish. This man even uses many of the words that Michael has used to justify his self-centered behavior.

Finally, he sees that he must end the charade. And, as he talks to the woman that, as Dorothy, he has befriended and fallen for, Michael says a line that he never would have been able to say when the movie started.

“I was a better man with you, as a woman… than I ever was with a woman, as a man.”

It is this line that lets us know that, no matter what happens, Michael has learned to think outside himself. He is not the only one that matters anymore. In the process, we have laughed and been entertained by Hoffman’s brilliant performance, and the whimsy of the story. Few movies take the painful process of self-discovery and make it so much fun. That’s the potential of comedy; it can take something that is very hard to swallow and make it not only palatable, but pleasing.