Tootsie (DVD 2001)

Dustin Hoffman is magnificent in this tender and amusing comedy of gender differentials in eighties New York. Michael Dorsey (Hoffman) is a talented actor with a fearsome reputation for his attitude to inept directors. A chance situation coaching a hopeless pupil for a part in a popular, long-running soap opera leads to Dorsey dressing in drag and winning the part for himself and gaining immense popularity for his feisty interpretation! Whilst becoming more in tune with his female alter-ego he finds himself falling hoplessley in love with the beautiful leading lady (a wonderful performance from Jessica Lange)whose widowed father falls in love with Hoffman's character! Chaos ensues as Hoffman struggles to keep all parties happy and produces an Oscar winning performance in the process. His subtle interpretation of a man realising what understanding a woman's psyche entails and superb comic timing combines to make a hilarious and touching movie. There are great cameos too from Bill Murray as Hoffman's abstract, playwriting flatmate and the film's director, Sidney Pollack, as Hoffman's bemused agent. Altogether a timeless movie which improves with repeated viewing. Excellent stuff!