Tootsie is a 1982 American satirical romantic comedy film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Dustin Hoffman. Its supporting cast includes Pollack, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Bill Murray, Charles Durning, George Gaynes, Geena Davis (in her debut) and Doris Belack. The film tells the story of a talented but volatile actor whose reputation for being difficult drives him to adopt a new identity as a woman to land a job.
Tootsie was a major critical and financial success, the second most profitable film of 1982, and was nominated for ten Academy Awards including Best Picture. Lange was the only winner, for Best Supporting Actress. In 1998, the Library of Congress deemed the film “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and selected it for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. Its theme song, “It Might Be You”, performed by Stephen Bishop, was a Top 40 hit in the United States.
Get your tickets for the accompanying event, Episode 1 of our Film & Culture Series with NYT columnist Ross Douthat: “Hollywood’s Past and the Cultural Future.”