This is truly an hilarious film, and despite having seen it twice previously, it is still utterly hilarious.
Michael Dorsey (Dustin Hoffman) is a method actor but is struggling to find work. On a whim, he somehow finds a dress and reads for a woman's role, frustrated that his friend, Sandy (the great Teri Garr) wasn't given the opportunity to read for. And by some miracle and by sheer wit and refusal to take no for an answer, he wins the role on the daytime drama, and inhabits his alter ego, Dorothy Michaels, being a strong female character, refusing to kiss the older male doctor, just because it is always written into the script. And then there is the added complication of Michael developing a crush on the soap opera star, Julie Nichols (Jessica Lange) while her father, Les (Charles Durning) falls in love with Dorothy.
So yeah, everything is complicated. But Dorothy shows women how to stand up for themselves and is a great role model for them, too bad she's not actually a woman. Dorothy's reveal is easily one of the funniest moments in cinema history and Hoffman is a revelation. Grade: A-
Side Notes:
-Bill Murray is delightfully droll as Michael's roommate, Jeff, who is writing a screenplay about a couple who moves next to a waste plant.
-The director, Sydney Pollack, is brilliant as Michael's tireless agent.
-Just listening to Michael discuss not having a great handbag, you can't help but chuckle.
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