A struggling actor creates a female alter ego to land a job on a popular soap opera. He quickly finds himself involved with the casts’ lives and tangled in a lie he can’t get out of.

TOOTSIE’s greatness and popularity stem directly from the fantastic performance of its lead actor, Dustin Hoffman. After watching some of his recent bombs, it’s easy to forget that Hoffman used to be an amazing actor and has played some of the great characters in movie history. Although TOOTSIE is not my favorite film of his, it’s still a good movie with a great performance.

Despite the potential for social commentary, TOOTSIE, much like the later MRS. DOUBTFIRE, stays clear of the social issues and tries to be just what you think it is; a simple story of a guy dressing like a woman. It’s not going to dive into the homosexual undertone or get too far involved with the woman’s rights issues at the time. Those explorations would distract from the fact there’s a guy dressed like a girl on screen. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but TOOTSIE shouldn’t be taken too seriously.

What TOOTSIE does do well is wrap several heartfelt relationships into a small package. The relationships he makes as a woman are what drives the film and push it to the next level. Hoffman is so convincing as Dorothy that you start to forget he’s a he. That speaks volumes for the film and the acting ability of Mr. Hoffman.

As many hits as TOOTSIE has, it also has a few misses. I could’ve done without the cheesy 80’s montage and I think they took her fame too far. But those are two things that probably had more to do with the time the movie was made than with the creative decisions. Even with those minor complaints, TOOTSIE is still a fun film and after repeat viewings, I still enjoy it.

Video: Widescreen (2.40:1): This is the best TOOTSIE has ever looked. They’ve really cleaned up the transfer and it looks pretty good given its age.

Audio: English and French 5.0 with English and French subtitles: The audio was fine with front channels being used almost exclusively.

A Better Man: The Making of Tootsie (68:54): This is an extensive featurette about the making of TOOTSIE. It was nice because it intermixed old interviews with new interviews with the cast and crew. Dustin Hoffman gives a lot of time and some great tidbits about the movie. There are some clichés sprinkled throughout (comedy is harder than drama, etc.) but overall this was pretty enjoyable.

Deleted Scenes (8:12): I always love deleted scenes from old films. It feels like we’re being let in on a secret or something. These were actually pretty enjoyable and gave some more back story to Dustin’s character. However, they weren’t funny, which is probably why they were cut.

Dustin Hoffman: Screen Test Footage (2:40): Wow, this was a rare treat. Supposedly this is the first time showing Hoffman as Dorothy. He didn’t have the voice down and the mannerisms were a little masculine, but the talent is definitely there.

There are also some Previews

I fear that younger audiences may not appreciate TOOTSIE since the idea of a man dressing like a woman in today’s society has a much different meaning today than it did in the early 80’s. Even if it hasn’t aged very well, TOOTSIE is still a cute film with some great performances.