Tootsie

I found Tootsie a fascinating film to watch. I didn’t know really know what to expect from this 1982 film about an out of work male actor that pretends to be woman to get an actor job. While it could have been overall an offensive light comedy about a man in drag (wouldn’t be the first) it took a much deeper path than expected. The character does as in typical movies like this feel constantly weird and out of place when acting as a woman. Instead he begins to identify himself more and more as his female persona. This happens early enough on that you can begin wondering if the character as always desired to be someone else.
There are many little things that stick out to me in this movie. As Michael, he is shunned by literally everyone he meets for being too abrasive and direct. However, he finds that as women people find this attitude and personality of his refreshing. It even goes as far his character in the Soap Opera being idolized which is where much of the conflict in movie comes from. Ron, the director, says he is trying to make a “statement” with the character that Dorothy plays but ultimately he is clearly ignorant and pushing his own views of what he perceives women as.
There are many moments in this movie where it is hard for me to tell if they are attempting to push the envelope or are questioning their own backwards thinking after this film is written by men and in the early 80s. For instance, the scene where Michael as Dorothy is nearly raped is not really given any seriousness to it yet Michael says after that that rape is no laughing matter. The movie certainly askes a male audience to question how it thinks about and treats women.
The movie clearly demonizes certain male characters like Ron or even the Michael as a guy himself. Most are them are displayed to be crude, chauvinist who reduce women to sex objects. Michael is somewhat different but not much better as he sleeps with Sandy just to hide his secret and not out of any sense of love and then continually blows her off and lies to her. I am overall unsure of the movies attempted message. If we simply go by what Michael says at the end of the movie he believes acting as a woman made him a better man. Yet I feel what is really trying to be said is that he was able to obtain a wider perspective and appreciation of how people are treated based on what they are born as. I have no doubt this movie would have been fairly different if it hadn’t come out in the early 80’s. For one it is never truly treated ok that Michael dresses a woman. Ultimately people don’t hate him for it even if there is a temporary sense of betrayal. It feels however that the movie was afraid to go the full distance. The closest they come is when Julie says she misses Dorothy and Michael says “You don’t have to. She’s right here.” They don’t fully recognize Michael and Dorothy as one in the same. Gender is still too binary in this movie and the movie is more about treating women better than breaking down the barrier between gender. I will not say that it doesn’t attempt to brake some barriers but it is not the full commitment of the movie.