OSCARS '82: Tootsie
“That is one nutty hospital.”
CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of crossdressing, sexism, gender, sexual harassment.
This week, we’re tackling a movie that’s so recognizable it might be a trope now. Yet somehow, some way, this movie was bound and determined to subvert expectations of an 80’s movie about a man impersonating a woman. It’s doubly impressive that known manipulative, controlling jerk Dustin Hoffman is the central figure of this film. But Sydney Pollack, a man notable on this show for being the best part of a Kubrick movie, works some directing magic to take a flimsy premise and really make it shine as an examination of sexism and gender dynamics. That is, until the very end, when the script buckles under its own pressure. It’s not perfect, but it’s also not bad, and somehow, remarkably, holds up. We’re talking about Tootsie this week on Macintosh & Maud Haven’t Seen What?!
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Intro music taken from the Second Movement of Ludwig von Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Licensed under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Hong Kong (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 HK) license. To hear the full performance or get more information, visit the song page at the Internet Archive.
Excerpt taken from “An Actor’s Life (Main Title)” from the motion picture soundtrack to Tootsie. Composed and arranged by Dave Grusin. © 1982, 1983 Columbia Motion Pictures Industries, Inc.
Excerpts taken from the film Tootsie are © 1982 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Excerpt taken from “Main Title” from the motion picture soundtrack to Frances. Composed and conducted by John Barry. © 2005 Beyond the Sea Limited, 1982 Fifth Continent Music Classics (FCMC).
