Dustin Hoffman Gets the Part, Dressed as a Woman | Tootsie (1982) | Now Playing

TOOTSIE (1982) is NOW PLAYING and can be found to Rent or Buy here: bit.ly/3vcKeKn
Michael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
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Dustin Hoffman Gets the Part, Dressed as a Woman | Tootsie (1982) | Now Playing

[@situated4]

Sydney Pollack directed Tootsie and did not want to act in the film at all. Hoffman begged him to be the agent role, and sent him roses asking him too. Their chemistry and writing was sublime!

[@andycross9840]

Miss Marshall: 'I wanna make her look a little more attractive, how far can you pull back? Cameraman: How d'you feel about Cleveland? 🤣🤣🤣

[@jtg3765]

Miss Marshall: Knock it off!

[@jx14aby]

Best line in the movie.

[@charliepanayiotou4305]

Might be the greatest single line character in the history of films (I assume that's his only line anyway!)

[@dalecooper9942]

💀💀💀

[@melbourn6655]

Best laugh I had in months!! Lol😂😂😂

[@_PURAVIDA]

“Shame on you you macho shithead” I still love to watch this film to this day. And I still laugh out loud.

[@AndriyValdensius-wi8gw]

This film is OLD. These days she'd be a woman if s/he identifies "as a woman". Therefore he's a woman and thus a "she." She's a woman with a penis.

[@gailwebb9619]

This scene and the one where Dorothy was talking to nurse Julie about electric cattle prods and jabbing the men in the badoobies took me out!

[@silviageorge7600]

I know this movie by heart . What a masterpiece !

[@overtaxed3628]

Not only is Sidney Pollack a phenomenal director, but he is also a phenomenal actor, and this scene is what I remember the most about this movie.

[@kennethwayne6857]

I hear it was Hoffman who talked him into doing that part.

[@overtaxed3628]

@@kennethwayne6857 According to Dabney Coleman possibly yes.

[@Quackamagooska]

I was a stand-up tomato: a juicy, sexy, beefsteak tomato. Nobody does vegetables like me. I did an endive salad that knocked the critics on their ass.

[@willshaw3493]

That was a reference to a Zero Mostel routine where he would actually play different vegetables.

[@mariestreeting4213]

😆😆😆😆

[@BLAB-it5un]

The best part about this first scene is it is a real life argument between Pollock and Hoffman as much as it is about the characters. Apparently this criticism of Dorsey is exactly how Hoffman was perceived by many, including Pollack.

[@RB2331]

I agree with you. It was sort of Dustin Hoffman. They were alluding to. He was very difficult but I’ll tell you he was hotter than a pistol Hoffman. You figure did commercials in the late 5060s in the graduate Papillion midnight cowboy then here we are being 15 years old ride my bike and laughing my ass off on this movie can you guys believe it’s been 42 years And Hoffman blessed with good health cause he’s the same age as politics passed away almost 16 years ago man oh man, what a funny movie this was classic but I’ll tell you it’s even funnier when he dress up as a girl and he sits next to Pollock in the restaurant that was.comGenius But can I say one last thing there’s no way in hell Jessica Lang deserved nomination for a simple role. She was in the movie for four minutes and all she did was just so have empathy and she was so quiet how she won an Oscar is mind blowing mind blowing, but I’ll tell you hopefully Hoffman took a small amount of money and got a nice five or six points because this was the highest grossing movie of the year besides, I think ET , walked away with $20 million

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

Method actors are notoriously difficult to work with. I worked for a director/producer for years and he HATED casting any method actors. And he was right, they're almost all a huge pain.

[@Jamietheroadrunner]

@@madeleinegrayson8372 method is an excuse by ego-ridden children to treat people on set horribly and get away with it.

[@MargaretHywe-Jones]

@@madeleinegrayson8372

[@TheColinChapman]

"nobody wants to pay twenty dollars to see people living next to chemical waste, they can see that in New Jersey!"

[@SpawnBrawn]

😂😂

[@isotopefeeney]

On the way to Bruce's house . . .

[@anyviolet]

Sydney Pollack is just HILARIOUS in this movie. "YOU WERE A TOMATO!!!!!" lmao

[@puttentanesame6687]

BEEF STEAK!

[@DaphneHarridge]

@@puttentanesame6687 JUICY SEXY BEEFSTEAK TOMATO! 😂

[@malcolmclements9254]

"How far can you pull back?" " How do feel about Cleveland!"

[@Marchant2]

Knock it off!

[@Sunny105121]

I saw this movie in the theatre when it first came out. That bit of dialogue got a huge laugh at the time. And it still makes me smile. A great movie!

[@bananian]

What does it mean? It's pulled so far back, it could see Cleveland? Or he's pulling back all the way to Cleveland?

[@lotterydonkey]

​@@bananian He was making a joke about her attractiveness or lack thereof.

[@ep4169]

The scene between Hoffman and Pollack is my favorite in the movie, one of my favorite scenes of all time, in fact. Superb acting, great writing, amazing chemistry--and hilarious! You're in stitches by the end of it.

[@joangravitz3280]

One of the best scenes is the one where Emily Kimberly reveals herself to be edward Kimberly on live tv

[@1tommyday]

He also did Kramer Vs Kramer a year before Tootsie. This was his time

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

Midnight Cowboy too, and Papillon.

[@thesoultwins72]

@@madeleinegrayson8372 .....Marathon Man

[@dciccantelli]

The Graduate.

[@jihangamal5823]

Kramer was about 10 years before Tootsie

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

@@jihangamal5823 it was five years before Tootise.

[@Diel78]

The epitome of ACTING:Dustin Hoffman. 👏👏

[@brandonisner5214]

"We'll send the contracts over today, Ms. Michaels." F-ing A. That must have been gorgeous to hear.

[@trainmandavid8408]

“Nobody wants to pay $20 to watch people living next to chemical waste - they can do that in New Jersey!!” 🤣😂

[@jonirving5606]

Pollock was great in this scene. Not easy to produce a real movie comedy. This is the way to do it.

[@stevenklimecky4918]

One of the lines I remember the most is when Dorothy confides that she has a "little moustache problem".

[@eyesandearseditions]

“Who told you that? The Agent Fairy?”

[@mariestreeting4213]

😆😆😆

[@ichigobatakekakashi]

When I saw the movie back then, I totally forgot the fact Dorothy was not a real woman. Dustin Hoffman is genius.

[@kennethwayne6857]

If it weren't for Ben Kingsley that year, he'd have another Oscar.

[@gailwebb9619]

I read an interview with Dustin Hoffman and he said he based Dorothy (in part) on his mother and grandmother. Whatever his inspiration was it was genius! I forgot it was Dustin Hoffman at times!

[@kennethwayne6857]

@@gailwebb9619 Same here. I've also read that there were some elements of Polly Holliday, the wonderful actress mostly known for playing Flo on the sitcom "Alice".

[@thethirdrome_ICXCNIKA]

He definitely deserves more credit for this role. I totally agree. Even the subtle mannerisms are spot on. Truly an iconic performance.

[@nnovahsjones82]

Can we just appreciate the musical scores of the 80s

[@dciccantelli]

Dave Grusin did this one. He also did The Fabulous Baker Boys which wasn't as big a hit as Tootsie. But the score for that movie was excellent.

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

I miss Sydney being in the world. Everyone who worked with him loved him. One of the maintenance guys from Warner Bros gushed over how kind he was, just interacting with him when he had to work on his office lighting. I saw this when it came out, as a teenager, and had been at a performing arts school, thinking about acting. I'm actually glad I didn't take that road. But it's fun to watch in a story like this. I worked with a secretary once, years later, who was the spitting image of Dorothy Michaels! It was hard not to giggle.

[@aderbalsoares1988]

That secretary you mentioned by the way... was she called Judy?

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

@@aderbalsoares1988 no, I don't believe so.

[@CJDiecast]

"YOU WERE A TOMATO! A TOMATO DOESN'T HAVE LOGIC! A TOMATO CAN'T MOVE!"

[@sandee3073]

My other favorite Pollack scene was in the Russian Tea Room when Michael shows up and sits down as Dorothy. “My God! I begged you to get therapy!”

[@tintinismybelgian]

Bob the Tomato had a scene where he demonstrated standing and sitting.

[@kennethwayne6857]

F. Murray Abraham's old job.

[@aavvcc]

Every scene they did together in this film was a winner

[@fionaneale3784]

Can we pay homage to make up and hair here? Total transformation. Absolute perfection. Hard to believe Dustin Hoffmann is under there.

[@donreid6399]

As someone who attended a lot of drag shows and seeing the guys transform, that shit ain't easy! 🙂

[@thenightporter]

Especially when he first meets Jessica Lange. The way he looks at her, his features soften and he really does look like a woman.

[@jeanleseth9279]

One of my favorite Dustin Hoffman movies

[@theonlydrsooz]

Me too. Always hilarious, no matter how many times I watch it, Dustin Hoffman was magnificent!😁

[@Beachdudeca]

Tootsie was a great movie !

[@commanderkeen3787]

Strindberg in the park LOL

[@robontube12]

Not only a great movie, also a fantastic soundtrack by Dave Grusin!

[@misfittoys5873]

Doris Baleck is so wonderfully subtle as Rita, it's all in her reactions; especially the moment when you can see her visibly moved by Dorothy's speech. So many emotions just flash across her face in one shot; amusement, recognition, respect.

[@na-que1283]

Michael, you're not going to raise twenty five cents. Nobody....will hire you.

[@christianhardtofind6349]

This is my favorite movie of the entire 1980's. There are very few movies from that decade that don't feel hopelessly dated to me now, but this one will always hold up!

[@HolgerRuneFan]

Breaking Away from 1980 also does not seem dated, nor On Golden Pond from 1981.

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

​Both incredible films. I own them all.

[@kennethwayne6857]

@@HolgerRuneFan Or Poltergeist.

[@thesoultwins72]

@@HolgerRuneFan .......Do you mean 'Breaking Away' [Dir. Peter Yates] starring Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern? If so, it was actually released in 1979

[@SmidBeach]

Though I do think that what made Dorothy Michaels work out was tied into the fussy blouse, big hair, and big glasses of the 80s. Nowadays, most outspoken women are viewed as threatening and disruptive. Dorothy's appearance and demeanor softened the psychological blow.

[@jeff__w]

What’s great about the writing here is that that combativeness, that sticking up for “what’s right,” that makes Michael Dorsey so unhirable, is exactly the quality that he gets to put to his advantage in his portrayal as Dorothy Michaels.

[@jefferoni1984]

That scene in George’s office is one of my favorite acted scenes. They were perfect together.

[@isotopefeeney]

5:40 "Well good for you . . . " Genius!!

[@TheLongjohntim]

I had a good friend that looked like the guy off Mad Magazine. He could pull off a flawless Tootsie right down to the voice. He had a photo album of picture of Tootsie the only way I spotted him was there was no glass in the eye glass. We lost him 25 years ago I think of him every time I see Tootsie. Rest in Peace Tim.

[@joshuah9109]

What a wonderful memory.

[@sailorv8067]

🙏🙏🙏

[@janetrowe1650]

I love the fashion of clothes and wig he wore in the movie

[@ladyanime100]

I love this movie

[@shquiethours]

RIP Dabney Coleman. He's great in this scene.

[@12classics39]

You can tell it’s love at first sight for Michael at 6:20.

[@timschroyer1257]

Another great movie that would never see the light of day in present times.

[@jonathanmcvay4499]

Indeed. Now all we get are comic book and video game movies.

[@user-cc9vz3ud9e]

The music - those horns - iconic!

[@jeshkam]

3:50 That blonde woman behind Hoffman is doing everything she can to hold back her laughter. 😂😂 I wish I knew what the actress' name was.

[@teutguy1]

Tootsie is a work of art. So many buried one liners...i watch it annually!!!

[@gizelakelly4255]

El señor HOFFMAN, es un actor de una calidad de excelencia y profesionalismo de primera número uno. 😊🇨🇷

[@shafankis]

It might be my favorite movie of all times

[@alisonclarke9650]

Me too!

[@gizelakelly4255]

Un saludo cordial para estos fans de esta bellísima película. 😊🇨🇷

[@JK-nx7my]

Dabney Coleman is so subtle and so much fun!

[@antmagor]

@5:20 because he knew he could just come back in another disguise, he knew he could say that with no risk of having the career ruined.

[@catcauldron217]

Oh! I need to watch this movie again 😘😂😘

[@user-eu6ht6nm2t]

Dabney ，What a great actor

[@gizelakelly4255]

Fue una película exitosa y excepcional el señor HOFFMAN fue un genial. 🇨🇷😊

[@cherylsawyer7710]

I feel like I should of changed. Hilarious 😂

[@dalecooper9942]

I remember watching Trotsky in the movie theater when it was released

[@katherinekerbow8344]

This was a wonderful movie!! Especially in 1982!!! It was put together so well and so funny but yet made you think and made you say hooray for women!!!! ❤

[@Im_so_Retro85]

Hahahahah this is one of my favorite movies 😂😂😂

[@jasnapanic3621]

My favourite movie! Great acting❤❤❤

[@joangravitz3280]

I love this movie!

[@familylove5412]

Classic ❤😂🎉😅😊😮

[@CoCotheTurtle]

"What is idiotic about power making a woman masculine?" (The most masculine woman in the movie walks past him.). ***Bonus*** The other assistant is wearing a suit jacket and her name is Joe!

[@maryeliason1504]

I own this film. So good

[@jl3322]

Love Tootsie

[@deegeraghty9426]

Great film.

[@angela-fl4gs]

I love this movie ❤❤❤

[@brittsavage007]

just think a few years before she's bringing these ladies in to audition she was singing, "STOP RIGHT THERE! I GOTTA KNOW RIGHT NOW!"

[@Playwright62]

I think it's his Stand-In walking in front as he makes his first entrance as Dorothy.

[@edanabrown9061]

“How do you feel about Cleveland?” 😂

[@laimaravillon895]

Es increíble cómo el texto es sobre being proud of being a woman, and he sincerely says it, saying it like a man! Y también, profundamente, es sobre lo de criticar a los machistas (como el director ese con bigote). Tootsie lo hace tan increíblemente! Y me encanta que quien lo dice "es" un hombre, etc.

[@nolagospeltracts8264]

How to you feel about Cleveland?

[@CalebMilne-eu5ht]

Ah the inspiration for Seinfeld

[@marstal4913]

I knew I recognized the "boss" he is the "Dr" from "Death Becomes Her".

[@MultiSweener]

Knocked the critics on they're ass.

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

*their

[@MultiSweener]

@madeleinegrayson8372 thank you KZbin editorial board. What wood the world do without you? See the irony?

[@user-bk1lh6pd5z]

I was a teen when it came out my cousin and I went to the movies she went to see star wars I went to see tootsie I loved it I don't think I was supposed to sneak in that show but I did

[@joshuah9109]

I was 13 when this came out. I liked it so much I saw it twice in theaters.

[@joshuah9109]

I was 12 when this came out and it was insanely popular! Hoffman was a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, but the Academy debated on rather he she should have been in the "Lead Actor" or "Lead Actress" category (I'm not joking).

[@filmnoirfan1975]

Get some therapy! lol

[@ralphmacchiato3761]

Now that is acting

[@KrystyneY]

Is Tootsie streaming anywhere!

[@SirPaulMuaddib]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned the beautiful Jessica Lange.

[@jTiroff]

She was Always Nuts and Self Absorbed.

[@user-jd1cu2vg2b]

I can't get over all the smoking. Lol!

[@gailwebb9619]

You do realize this was made in 1982?

[@puttentanesame6687]

'a JUICY SEXY Beef Steak TOMATO'....

[@josephbahri1403]

It has always bothered me that lady director says they will send the contract over to George TODAY. Yet when Dorothy meets George at the Russian Tea Room, apparently much later on, he has NO KNOWLEDGR of the fact that Dorothy (Michael) has gotten a job on the SOAP. No clue. Confusing. So who did George think the contract was for????

[@Frank_E_Scialdone]

How do you feel about Cleveland?

[@rooty]

Would

[@brandonharrischannel7516]

Shi fu

[@bananian]

So he's Edward Norton

[@Johnnyiswhere]

😂 good one!

[@pierrefireball2505]

I really love this movie. Why is it that in 1993, we got Robin William doing Mrs Doubtfire, yet before we had Toosie "in the 1980s", for which I am fine with both of these movies... we are now in 2024... YET it seems "Do not dare doing any actual movies to forward LGBT" to be accepted anything close to these type of film???

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

Neither film was about sexuality. In Tootsie, he's an out of work, desperate straight man. It's just a role.

[@BalmforthGG]

I don’t care how “method” he is, he is no more than 7. Maybe 7.5.

[@patricklipski1662]

Macho Shithead " 😂

[@laurencaulton103]

No! His character gets the part while dressed as a woman.

[@claytonarmstrong5622]

Family Guy brought me here

[@nick4alex123]

There's something about her that bothers me!!! :P

[@williamtinley9222]

Ahh the days when men were men LOL

[@takata98]

I first viewed Tootsie, with a straight friend at his suggestion after seeing trailers. After he quoted so many funny lines from the movie. His take was it was a cleverly scripted and brilliant satire. We even went to view again and still he never disparaged the premise of the movie, the gender roles etc. For hims it was just a brilliant movie with lots of satire and irony, perhaps in 1982 it was pre "politically correct".

[@garrettq1977]

This movie is illegal in how many ass backward states now?

[@jamesmasters4255]

😂😂😂 I luv it! Go Dustin! 😂😂

[@CoCotheTurtle]

Help me out. Hoffman barges in on his agent, who's on the phone with the west coast. So it has to be late in the morning, NYC time, at least. Then, does he go and win the part that same afternoon? The producer says, "we'll send the contracts over this afternoon." So, when Hoffman meets his agent outside the Russian Tea Room, at lunch hour, it has to be the next day, right? My question is, how could the agent NOT KNOW that Hoffman got the part? The contracts were to be sent over the afternoon of the audition. You would think the agent would have been BLOWN AWAY that someone he represented had got a part on a national TV show!

[@dorkbrandon4422]

Slow down Columbo

[@Benjorunner]

You having some time on your hands? 😆

[@alasdairwatson712]

It is possible that we are supposed to assume that at least one day has passed between the altercation with his agent and the audition, possibly a few days.

[@CoCotheTurtle]

@@alasdairwatson712 I think my original comment was too wordy. Michael is bragging to George at the Russian Tea Room. George should have received the contracts AT LEAST the afternoon before. How could he not know that his client THAT NOBODY WILL HIRE had landed a soap?

[@miguelservetus9534]

You’re correct but it isn’t a movie about time. Act V of Hamlet is so contrived to be laughable, no no one in the audience laughs and it is one of the greatest Acts in theater.

[@TheBeliever1204]

Was a funny movie back in tbe 80s. Showed tbe sexual harrassment women had to put up with on a daily basis

[@mm72213]

TRANS IS BEAUTIFUL ❤🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️☮️

[@Spinner773]

It's cross dressing lol

[@jptaylor]

Jessica Lange - so miscast. 🤦‍♂️

[@Playwright62]

Thank you--I agree! Did she win an Oscar for this? Eeh ...

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

She won an Oscar for this and was lovely in the film. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for this and Best Actress for Frances. She won for this one.

[@gailwebb9619]

No, she wasn’t. She won the best supporting actress for it.

[@our-days-are-short8254]

and this is where the grooming of the nations started.

[@jonathanmcvay4499]

I absolutely knew there would be a MAGAt in here screaming about this movie.

[@our-days-are-short8254]

@@jonathanmcvay4499 I'm a Brit so MAGA is useless on me. Maybe you need J3sus as Saviour, before it's too late?

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

It's just a funny movie, unclench. He's an actor desperate for work, not t r a n s. 😂

[@kathydiamond2029]

Every condemnation is a confession...

[@joshuah9109]

Several decades ago, women weren't allowed to act in plays because it was considered offensive, men in drag played the female roles. In the 1950's SOME LIKE IT HOT was a huge success and it was about two men cross-dressing to escape the Mafia. In the 70's a comedian named Flip Wilson had a variety show, one of his most popular characters was a woman named Geraldine. So sure, TOOTSIE was where the "grooming" started.🙄😒

[@MagnusVonBenz]

his female part is bad acting

[@madeleinegrayson8372]

He was more convincing than Dylan Mulvaney. 😂

[@jefferoni1984]

Bull