Shayne-Michael.COMedy

Analyzing Tootsie: Three Audiences, Three Movies - by Shayne Michael

The aim of this pamphlet is two fold. The Film Academy rates Tootsie as the second best comedy in history, right behind Dr. Strangelove. However, when you look at the IMDB, the film rates considerably lower. In fact, it actually doesn't even rate in the top 250 films. Also, the film was released in the 1980s. At that time, selling men on a movie about a guy in a dress, would have been a much more difficult.

The questions I ask first is, "Why was Tootsie so popular among critics, yet only above average with the general public" The next question I ask is, does the premise of Tootsie exclude any big demographic, ie men. A man in a dress could scare a lot of men away in 1982. Therefore the final question I ask is, "Did the film plan for this possibility? If so, how did the filmmakers prepare for it?" Then I will ask what can aspiring comedy filmmakers learn from all these answers.

The truth is Tootsie had mass appeal. But it's biggest appeal was to critics, actors and filmmakers. There were many inside jokes that would be easier to get, if you fell into those groups. Secondly, Tootsie, while partly written to appeal to women, did directly address the issue that its premise might have turned off a male audience. Filmmakers can therefore learn how one comedy can reach several different audiences and stop itself from scaring any one market segment away.

Tootsie Had Jokes About Acting Critics Would Understand Better

Critics are better equipped to appreciate the difficulty of Dustin Hoffman playing three parts in the same film, especially when one role is playing the other. In Tootsie Hoffman plays Michael Dorsey, Dorthy Michaels, who is played by Michael Dorsey and Emily Kimberly the actress who is played by Dorothy Michaels. Furthermore, Hoffman plays a bad actor as Michael Dorsey; he plays a good actor as Dorothy Michaels. And he plays a ball-breaking soap star as Emily Kimberly. Playing one roll correctly is difficult enough. This skill it took to play all three, playing each other, is a major factor in why Tootsie is so critically acclaimed.

Critics would also be more likely to appreciate commentaries on the commercialization of the acting profession. In a death scene Dustin Hoffman was asked to move center stage so the entire audience could appreciate his death. While this would seem ludicrous to anyone outside the industry it would be even more powerful to an audience of critics. The truth is once you enter the industry you see a lot of examples of directors sacrificing reality for mass appeal. Critics are also more likely to appreciate the fact that the producers keep Dustin Hoffman on the soap opera, despite his ability to make the director completely uncomfortable. After all, Emily Kimberly is a popular character. And loosing three share points is not acceptable.

A scene that is hysterical to the general public occurs when Dustin Hoffman begins to overanalyze the motives of a Tomato. According to Hoffman the director has him playing the Tomato wrong because he asked him to sit down as a tomato. Of course who ever heard of a "sitting tomato." The truth is as funny as this scene would be to you or I, it would be even more so to a critic who has seen thousands of examples or overacting. Remember you and I escape bad actors. A critic is forced to write about them. Critics are also more likely to appreciate directors who contradict themselves. In one scene a director tells Hoffman they need someone taller. When Hoffman takes off his shoes and offers to "become shorter", the director is forced to admit just don't want Hoffman. Describing someone else was simply their way of letting him down easy. To film insiders the scene is a commentary on sneaky behavior of casting directors. To the general public, it's just indecisive behavior.

There were also a number of examples of irony within the acting profession that would be all together missed by the general public. The easiest to spot was that Dustin Hoffman became a highly qualified acting coach despite not being able to find a job actor. Acting coaches that can't find themselves work are common in Hollywood. If you are aware of this, you're either an actor or you play one on TV. People outside the business are just not aware of it.

Tootsie Already Had A Strong Appeal Among Women

The appeal to women comes primarily from the film's theme. Women are likely to appreciate Dustin Hoffman's newfound understanding of women as he begins to dress and act more like one. For instance, when Hoffman says, "I don't understand how a woman can stay attractive and not starve," a lot of woman are a lot are likely than men to chime in with, "Been there sista." Women are also more likely to appreciate Hoffman's innocence when he agrees to take on caring for Julie's daughter Amy as Dorothy Michaels, with the comment, "How Hard Can It Be?". Up until that point Hoffman has no clue how difficult it is to be a mother or to play one in drag.

Another appeal to women will come from the transformation in Hoffman's character. Women are more likely to appreciate the fact Hoffman believes he is somehow becomes smarter when he plays the part of Emily Kimberly or Dorothy Michaels. Drop the PC shield and accept it, some women believe men to be morons from time to time. Women are also more likely to appreciate when Hoffman begins to see and despise his male chauvinist traits within other people, as he plays the role of Emily Kimberly. When he begins to see Dabney Coleman, who plays the soap's director as taking advantage of his love-interest, in the same way took advantage of his past flames women, there's a certain charm in his insight.

Some Jokes Would Bridged The Gap For Men

The easiest thing to miss in Tootsie is the appeal to a male audience. There were actually more jokes written for men than for women. Why? It's possible, many men are too proud to watch a movie about a guy that goes around New York in a dress. This fear was dealt with directly.

When Hoffman is first playing the role of Emily Kimberly he learns in the dressing room he learns that he will have to "kiss" one of the male doctors in the show. In the same scene, he's learning this from a very attractive Gina Davis in her underwear. Originally she was a big distraction. When Hoffman learned he might have to do something gay, the distraction is all-but gone. Playing the scene in this way could have left men thinking, "Well the film looks gay. But Hoffman is worried about it too, so I guess it's alright."

In another scene Hoffman has sex with a friend, Sandy. Prior to that scene, Hoffman is trying on Sandy's (Terri Garr's) clothes for his part in a new soap, where he plays a woman. Hoffman is less embarrassed by faking a sexual attraction to Garr than he is by admitting he was trying on Garr's dress for the part. This was another direct attempt by the writer to cope with the male audience members who might have handled the situation in the same way.

The issue is also indirectly addressed when Hoffman carries some bags for Julie's father. At the time, Hoffman is dressed as a woman, Dorothy Michaels. However, he/she still has the muscular strength of a man, which allows Hoffman to lift the bags with ease. Julie's dad does what every middle age guy would do. He impolitely tells Hoffman he (who he believes to be a woman) that she is too masculine, rather than chance admitting that he's not masculine enough.

What Can Comedy Filmmakers Learn?

Tootsie took a lot of risks. In 1982, a lot of men might have had problems watching a movie about a washed up New York actor in a dress, if it hadn't been written for them at the same time. Tootsie addressed each of it's component audience, men, women and critics on a different yet equal level. There were jokes just for critics. There were jokes just for women. And there were jokes to ease the concerns of men.

There were many jokes that critics would appreciate more, yet the general public would still have understood them. Critics are more likely to laugh at a soap being called a daytime drama to remove the stigmatism. At the same time, critics would find it funny that a character gets fan mail, while the actor gets nothing. This same cliche, that so funny to a critic, would leave a fan saying, "I thought that was normal."

While both audiences got the jokes, only critics felt exceptionally close to those jokes. That's why to date, critics rate Tootsie higher than average movie goers. Despite many inside jokes, Tootsie did a good job connecting with men and women both. It also handled well the fears of men who might come to see the film, because they wouldn't feel comfortable watching a guy in a dress. So what can filmmakers learn from Tootsie? Learn from how the movie reached all it's target audience. And learn why it didn't turn men away