Tootsie (1982) 116 Minutes

Promises, promises. Tooda has been threatening ‘Tootsie’ ever since ‘The French Connection.’ MOFO was a staunch opposer to the film as a Pick (though he had never seen it), and eventually Tooda swore he would never roll with this Selection. But with the “So Bad, It’s Good” rotation behind us (and MOFO up north) it seems the playing field at Movienight had never been so ready for Tooda to break his promise. It was ultimately a timely Selection as Tooda’s honored the passing of the great Sydney Pollock with this showing.

‘Tootsie’ marks the Movienight debut of Pollock (sort of, he directed without credit one scene in Netti’s ‘The Swimmer.’) Dustin Hoffman, far from debuting, is now one Pick away from tying Roy Scheider with six Picks. Including ‘Tootsie,’ Hoffman’s five are: ‘Papillon,’ ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ ‘Straw Dogs,’ and ‘Marathon Man.’ Teri Garr and Bill Murray aren’t far behind the record holders either, Teri with ‘Let it Ride,’ ‘The Conversation,’ and ‘CEOT3K,’ and Bill with ‘Ed Wood,’ ‘Rushmore,’ and ‘Meatballs’ both make it four here. Charles Durning returns for his second bow after Nubs’ ‘The Hudsucker Proxy.’ Dabney Coleman and Geena Davis debut here.

Next week Nubs follows up his brilliant/awful ‘Staying Alive.’

“I think we’re getting into a weird area here.”

Written by: Larry Gelbart and Murray Shisgal

Directed by: Sydney Pollack

Nubs Comments:

Wow. When I invented Movienight and then masterminded the “so bad its good” rotation, I never could have imagined we’d get to this. Clearly my “so bad it’s good” opened the door just enough to give us a glimpse of the Movienight taboo and now, like a bunch of college kids hell bent on experimenting , the door is wide open. In Stayin Alive John Travolta asked us to take a dancer size leap into the abyss. Tooda followed that up with Marty, where a bachelor learns to ditch his poker chums and commit to the eternal shackles of marriage. After a couple of Netti and Mofo make-up picks, Slim brought Bodies, Rest, and Motion where a woman learns to find her identity apart from the desires of men and have a kick-ass yard sale. Now Tooda has gone back on his promise and brought Tootsie where a womanizer unleashes his inner-woman and learns to respect the plight of the 80’s female. Wow. This is especially ironic considering this is probably the longest streak of Movienights since our beginnings that have had all male attendees. By my count this is now the fourth time we’ve featured cross-dressing including Willem Defoe(Boondock), Johnny Depp (Ed Wood), Harvey Keitel(holy Smoke!).

Tootsie is a really good movie. The script is smart, the cast and acting is the best you could ask for, the direction though far from Pollock’s best, serves its purpose. It’s no wonder that this movie racked up so much hardware in its day. As a pick, I hate to admit I had a hard time getting behind it. Especially on the high heels of the “so bad” rotation, the “Go, Tootsie, go” theme song and worst score since Stayin Alive or They Live, brought out more cheese than the string-cheese the crew consumed post-pick and kept me from seeing this film for it’s once true merit.

We used to use the term “tagged” for a pick that’s time period kept it from being universal. Its been a long time since seeing Tootsie and I’m sorry to say it is tagged by 1980’s ideals, 80’s fashion, 80’s cinema, 80’s music, and Dabney Coleman(one of my favorite actors of all time. for real). The many montages featuring Dorothy shopping, , bullying chauvinistic pigs, and glowing with a baby in the sunlight, also kept my cynical side at the forefront. Nevertheless, it is a well-made movie and I’m glad most of the crew was able to see it for such. I cannot agree with Tooda that it’s a zip thud since that statement alludes to the presence of a penis. I will refrain from making my usual Dicks street joke here and begin deliberating where to take Movienight with my pick next week.

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