---
title: "Tootsie"
year: 1982
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/tootsie"
fi1m_id: "tootsie"
imdb_id: "tt0084805"
tmdb_id: 9576
wikidata_id: "Q221249"
fi1m_score: 85
critics_score: 87
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-09-15"
updated: "2026-09-18T08:38:21.453476+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Tootsie (1982)

Directed by Sydney Pollack · 1h 56m · MPA PG · Comedy, Romance

## Identity

Tootsie

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/tootsie
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** tootsie
- **IMDb ID:** tt0084805
- **TMDB ID:** 9576
- **Wikidata ID:** Q221249
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084805/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/9576, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q221249

**Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 87 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* Dustin Hoffman finds a job in a dress and brings all his existing grievances with him

> Sydney Pollack’s *Tootsie* is a funny, humane farce led by Dustin Hoffman and an alert supporting cast. It deserves a little scepticism when it starts teaching lessons about women, but we recommend it warmly.

## Synopsis

Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is a struggling actor whose difficult temperament does not help him find work. He dresses as a woman, takes the name Dorothy Michaels and goes after a role in a television soap opera, adding another performance to the job he hopes to get. Sydney Pollack directs this comedy and romance, and plays George Fields. Jessica Lange appears as Julie Nichols, alongside Teri Garr as Sandy Lester and Dabney Coleman as Ron Carlisle. Bill Murray plays Jeff Slater, with Charles Durning as Les Nichols.

## Review

Sydney Pollack understands how much comedy can come from an actor who regards being out of work as an administrative error. In *Tootsie*, Dustin Hoffman’s Michael Dorsey dresses as Dorothy Michaels to secure a soap-opera role, taking his considerable talent and difficult temperament into the disguise. It is an excellent farce, because Pollack lets the people take their predicament seriously without asking us to examine its plausibility too closely. Larry Gelbart and Murray Schisgal’s screenplay keeps finding fresh trouble in Michael’s confidence that he knows what he is doing.

Hoffman makes Dorothy sufficiently convincing that we can stop inspecting the disguise and start watching the person. The vanity does not disappear beneath the clothes, nor does the impatience of someone certain that he knows his profession better than everyone else. We laughed at how little his tetchiness changes when he becomes Dorothy. That continuity makes the performance funny, while the vulnerability Hoffman allows through keeps Michael from becoming an exhausting companion.

Jessica Lange’s Julie Nichols is essential here: Lange gives the comedy someone whose feelings we have reason to take seriously. Teri Garr brings an anxious precision to Sandy Lester that deserves as much attention as Hoffman’s more conspicuous work. Bill Murray’s Jeff Slater is a welcome, quieter comic presence, and Pollack, appearing as George Fields, knows how to make resistance to Hoffman funny. Their different rhythms stop the film becoming a succession of opportunities to applaud its leading man.

Owen Roizman’s cinematography is pleasingly unshowy, keeping our attention on the performers without treating Dorothy as a sight gag. Peter S. Larkin’s production design makes the soap-opera setting convincing enough to support all this professional anxiety. The workplace needs to seem worth getting into, however absurd the means of entry, and Larkin supplies that credibility. Ruth Morley’s costume design helps us accept Dorothy as a person with an idea of how she wishes to look.

Editors Fredric Steinkamp and William Steinkamp understand that an ensemble comedy needs room for someone other than the loudest person to register. The exchanges feel quick without becoming a blur, and the pauses rarely seem like invitations to admire a joke. At 116 minutes, the film is generous without feeling laborious. Dave Grusin’s music is our smaller reservation: its encouragement towards tenderness can feel unnecessary when Lange and Hoffman are already making the feelings clear.

The larger reservation concerns what Michael’s experience is supposed to teach us about women. There is something limiting about giving a man so much of the authority to explain how they are treated, however sincerely the screenplay wants him to learn. Gelbart and Schisgal scrutinise his vanity closely, but leave some comfortable assumptions about men and women alone. Lange and Garr make their characters interesting enough that the script could afford to let them complicate its lessons more often.

Within the disguise farce, though, *Tootsie* earns the affection that a lesser film would demand simply for putting its star in unfamiliar clothes. Pollack trusts recognisable irritation, ambition and embarrassment to carry an improbable story. That makes the comedy welcoming even when its thinking could be sharper. Watch it for the ensemble, and allow Lange and Garr at least as much of the conversation afterwards as Hoffman.

*Fi1m score 85, published 15 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The reviews are consistently positive, with praise centred on Dustin Hoffman’s layered performance and the film’s ability to make an unlikely premise feel believable. Critics repeatedly find vulnerability beneath the farce, crediting Hoffman with giving the comedy emotional weight without slowing its pace. The sharp dialogue, strong supporting cast and Sydney Pollack’s assured direction also draw praise, with several reviews stressing that the humour works because the characters remain recognisable people rather than simply serving the jokes.

The spread is narrow, but the enthusiasm is not entirely unqualified. Time Out admires the polish, quick wit and Jessica Lange’s performance while arguing that the film avoids confronting its implications about gender and makes an insulting assumption about female audiences. That reservation stands apart from the other reviews’ emphasis on comic conviction and warmth: the principal disagreement concerns how seriously the film examines the situation it makes so funny.

## Straight answers

**Is Tootsie worth watching?**

*Tootsie* is worth watching for anyone who likes a farce built on recognisable vanity rather than on the sight of a man in a dress, and we scored it 85. Dustin Hoffman is funny because his character stays tetchy whoever he is pretending to be, and Jessica Lange and Teri Garr give the comedy people worth caring about. Its lessons about women deserve some scepticism.

**How long is Tootsie, and what is it rated?**

*Tootsie* runs 1h 56m and is rated PG by the MPA in the US. It is a comedy and romance film.

**Where can I watch Tootsie in the US?**

*Tootsie* is streaming on Amazon Prime Video in the US, and it is also available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Tootsie, and is it suitable for children?**

*Tootsie* is a comedy with no violence to speak of and nothing frightening; it carries a UK 15 certificate, which reflects adult sexual comedy and language rather than anything alarming. Older teenagers should be fine with it, and the squeamish have nothing to worry about. Younger children are more likely to be bored than upset.

**How does Tootsie compare to Some Like It Hot?**

*Tootsie* and [*Some Like It Hot*](https://film.one/film/some-like-it-hot) are both disguise farces that care about wounded feelings as much as about timing, and Billy Wilder's film is the funnier and more exact of the two. *Tootsie* has the richer ensemble around its lead and a workplace setting that feels believable, but its efforts to teach a lesson slow it where Wilder simply keeps the jokes coming.

**What should I watch after Tootsie?**

After *Tootsie*, try [*Some Like It Hot*](https://film.one/film/some-like-it-hot) (1959, Fi1m 92): A disguise farce with equal care for comic timing and wounded feelings. Then [*Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown*](https://film.one/film/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown) (1988, Fi1m 84): Escalating complications and an alert ensemble, with women firmly in charge; and [*Toni Erdmann*](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann) (2016, Fi1m 86): A disruptive disguise exposes workplace absurdity and an awkward need for affection.

### Reviews we read (7)

- **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (90/100, inferred): Kael praises it as a modern screwball comedy with a can-you-top-this quality and believable farce, inconceivable without Hoffman's masterful multi-layered performance as Michael/Dorothy/Emily. She notes the film's energy, casting, and dialogue as major strengths. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1982/12/27/tootsie-gandhi-and-sophie)
- **The New York Times**, Vincent Canby (90/100, inferred): Canby calls it a rollicking, hip comedy that finds comic possibilities in an improbable situation through inspired common sense rather than exaggeration. He singles out Dustin Hoffman's grand, nuanced dual performance as the standout element. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1982/12/17/movies/tootsie-comedy.html)
- **Variety** (85/100, inferred): The review deems it remarkably funny and convincing, a rare in-drag comedy with three-dimensional characters and b.o. smash potential. It highlights Hoffman's brilliant performance and Pollack's top career achievement in direction and supporting role. [Read](https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/tootsie-1200425318/)
- **Time Out**, DP (4/5): The critic calls it one of the most polished situation comedies in recent years, praising its quick-witted tone, smart dialogue reminiscent of Billy Wilder, and Jessica Lange's sure-footed performance. However, it faults the film for never confronting its implications regarding gender and for a crassly insulting assumption about female audiences. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/tootsie)
- **Empire**, William Thomas: The critic praises Dustin Hoffman's superb performance as the tetchy actor who dresses as a woman to land a soap opera role, noting the genuine vulnerability beneath the farce. The review highlights the hilarious yet touching and tasteful tone, along with strong supporting turns from the cast. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/tootsie-review/)
- **Collider**, Andre Dellamorte (90/100, inferred): The critic calls Tootsie a perfect movie and a testament to its enduring appeal despite its 1982 origins. They single out Dustin Hoffman's lead performance and Sydney Pollack's assured direction for particular praise. [Read](https://collider.com/tootise-criterion-blu-ray-review-time-bandits/)
- **Paste**, Craig D. Lindsey (85/100, inferred): The critic deems Tootsie a sophisticated comedy classic that succeeds despite its unlikely premise and production challenges. They single out its believable, reality-based humor and the contributions of its multiple screenwriters for praise. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/dustin-hoffman/tootsie-crossdressing-comedy-dustin-hoffman)

## Details

- **Director:** Sydney Pollack
- **Director:** Sydney Pollack
- **Screenplay:** Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal
- **Story:** Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart
- **Cinematography:** Owen Roizman
- **Editor:** Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp
- **Music:** Dave Grusin
- **Production design:** Peter S. Larkin
- **Costume design:** Ruth Morley
- **Producer:** Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards, Ronald L. Schwary
- **Cast:** Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey / Dorothy Michaels; Jessica Lange as Julie Nichols; Teri Garr as Sandy Lester; Dabney Coleman as Ron Carlisle; Charles Durning as Les Nichols; Bill Murray as Jeff Slater; Sydney Pollack as George Fields; George Gaynes as John Van Horn
- **Runtime:** 1h 56m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG
- **Release (the US):** 17 December 1982
- **Genres:** Comedy, Romance
- **Also in:** [Best Picture winners](https://film.one/collections/oscar-best-picture.md) (Nominee, 1982); [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1983); [Golden Globe Best Musical or Comedy winners](https://film.one/collections/golden-globe-comedy.md) (Winner, 1982)
- **Budget:** $21 million
- **Box office:** $177 million

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, uhd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $7.99, uhd

*Checked 2026-09-15.*

Also available in: AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, HU, IE, IN, IT, LT, MX, NL, NO, NZ, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SI, TR, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- BAFTA Film Awards 1984: Best Makeup and Hair (won)
- Academy Awards 1983: Best Actor (nominated); Best Cinematography (nominated); Best Director (nominated); Best Film Editing (nominated); Best Picture (nominated); Best Sound (nominated); Best Writing, Original Screenplay (nominated); Best Supporting Actress (won)
- Silver nugget for the best foreign film 1983: Silver nugget for the best foreign film (won)

## If you liked this

- *Some Like It Hot* (1959), Fi1m 92: A disguise farce with equal care for comic timing and wounded feelings. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/some-like-it-hot.md)
- *La Cage aux Folles* (1978): Another performance of respectability becomes impossible to maintain, with affection beneath the panic.
- *Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown* (1988), Fi1m 84: Escalating complications and an alert ensemble, with women firmly in charge. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/women-on-the-verge-of-a-nervous-breakdown.md)
- *Living in Oblivion* (1995): For more actors making employment difficult, this time on a film set.
- *Toni Erdmann* (2016), Fi1m 86: A disruptive disguise exposes workplace absurdity and an awkward need for affection. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/toni-erdmann.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/tootsie