dvr this
Turner Classic Movies, Saturday, July 27, 5 p.m.
Dustin Hoffman is an out of work actor who pretends to be a woman to get a role on a soap opera. It works, and suddenly he’s a star – or rather, his uptight, lightly frumpy alter ego is. To make matters worse, he falls in love with his co-star, played by Jessica Lange. She thinks his alter ego is a lesbian, while his girlfriend (Teri Garr) thinks he’s gay. Tootsie is amazingly funny, and Hoffman is so good as both a man and a woman; after every viewing it becomes more and more crazy that he didn’t win an Oscar for the role. Lange did. It’s one of the great film comedies, wonderfully directed by Sydney Pollack and written by Larry Gelbart. Even better, it’s based on a true story.
