DVD Collectors Online

Tootsie, a review by Tom

---

Title: Tootsie
Links: IMDb | Wikipedia

---

Year:	1982 / United States
Director:	Sydney Pollack
Writing:	Don McGuire (Story By), Larry Gelbart (Story By), Larry Gelbart (Screenwriter), Murray Schisgal (Screenwriter)
Rating:	15
Length:	112 Min.
Video:	Anamorphic Widescreen 2.35
Audio:	English: Dolby Digital 5.0, French: Dolby Digital 1, German: Dolby Digital 1, Italian: Dolby Digital 1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 1
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

---

Stars:
Dustin Hoffman as Michael Dorsey
Dustin Hoffman as Dorothy Michaels
Jessica Lange as Julie
Teri Garr as Sandy
Dabney Coleman as Ron

Plot:
Desperate, he took a female role and beame a star. If only he could tell the woman he loves.Awards:

Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Actor	Dustin Hoffman
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Cinematography	Owen Roizman
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Director	Sydney Pollack
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Film Editing	Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Music, Song	"It Might Be You": Dave Grusin (Music); Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman (Lyrics)
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Picture	Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards (Producers)
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Sound	Arthur Piantadosi, Les Fresholtz, Rick Alexander, Les Lazarowitz
Academy Award	1982	Won	Best Supporting Actress	Jessica Lange
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Supporting Actress	Teri Garr
Academy Award	1982	Nominated	Best Writing, Original Screenplay	Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal (Screenplay); Don McGuire, Larry Gelbart (Story)
AFI	1982	Won	100 Years... 100 Laughs (2000)
AFI	1982	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (1998)
AFI	1982	Won	100 Years... 100 Movies (2007)
AFI	1982	Nominated	100 Years... 100 Songs (2004)	"Song": It Might Be You
American Cinema Editors Awards	1983	Nominated	Best Edited Feature Film	Fredric Steinkamp, William Steinkamp
BAFTA	1983	Won	Actor	Dustin Hoffman
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Actress	Jessica Lange
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Adapted Screenplay	Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Costume Design	Ruth Morley
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Direction	Sydney Pollack
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Film	Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards
BAFTA	1983	Won	Make-Up Artist	Dorothy J. Pearl, George Masters, C. Romania Ford, Allen Weisinger
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Original Song Written For A Film	"Tootsie": Dave Grusin, Alan Bergman, Marilyn Bergman
BAFTA	1983	Nominated	Supporting Actress	Teri Garr
	1982	Nominated	Meilleur Film Etranger	Sydney Pollack
Directors Guild of America	1983	Nominated	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures	Sydney Pollack
Golden Globe	1982	Won	Actor in a Leading Role - Musical or Comedy	Dustin Hoffman
Golden Globe	1982	Won	Actress in a Supporting Role	Jessica Lange
Golden Globe	1982	Nominated	Director	Sydney Pollack
Golden Globe	1982	Won	Picture - Musical or Comedy	Sydney Pollack, Dick Richards
Golden Globe	1982	Nominated	Screenplay	Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal
Grammy Awards	1984	Nominated	Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Special	Dave Grusin
Writers Guild of America Awards	1983	Won	Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen	Larry Gelbart, Murray Schisgal

Extras:
Bonus Trailers
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

This one was recommended to me here (I think by Jon). Of course I knew about this movie, but I never considered watching it because I wasn't really keen on watching Dustin Hoffman in drag. But after the recommendation and reading the synopsis I found that this movie could be interesting to me after all. Dustin Hoffman did a great job as Dorothy. Whenever he was on screen as Dorothy, it was real fun to watch. Also I was surprised to see Bill Murray. I didn't know beforehand that he was in this picture.
I am also glad that Dustin Hoffman convinced the director Sydney Pollack to play the role of the agent. These two were great together.
Teri Garr reminded me a lot of Phoebe from Friends. It's a stroke of genius of the producers of Friends to cast her as Phoebe's mother, I think.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Reviews on August 9th, 2010)

Forrest Gump, a review by Jon

1994
Forrest Gump
4 out of 5



Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is the most innocent of figures and we see a generation of America develop through his eyes.

Criticising Forrest Gump is like kicking a puppy in the face. Well pucker up, Pooch! I’m gonna have a go… oh what’s the use? That’s the thing about Gump. To continue the puppy analogy, he just keeps coming back until he eventually makes you laugh by leaving a turd on the carpet or trying to hump your leg. It is a lovable film that has many good points, but it’s as dumb as its hero when it comes to delivery. Maybe that’s the point though. That it is in all respects, a simple, unassuming tale, representing something much bigger than its hero. Black Beauty then. Sorry, first puppies, now horses. Keeping up?

Tom Hanks is marvellous as Gump, but Oscar worthy? He was for Philadelphia, but considering the incredible talent he was up against, here I’m not so sure. As I said once before though, Oscar loves the afflicted and they obviously see being thick as a disability! Best Film no excuse though because I should have been watching The Shawshank Redemption tonight. It’s the first time I think the Academy truly lost all common sense.

Although as subtle as a sledgehammer, it is fundamentally clever. Gump has nothing but an iron clad sense of right and wrong instilled in him by his “momma” (Sally Field) and that’s how he sees everything good and bad America has to offer through several decades. Told in flashback as he sits on a bench waiting for a bus, his habit of simplifying huge events is endearing and unavoidably stark. Some of the effects work when he appears in original footage is incredible (though the John Lennon sequence was misjudged). His effect on people is wonderfully uplifting, tempered by a strong sense of irony that crops up occasionally. The best sequence is in Vietnam and can represent the entire film; he barely has any idea of why he’s there or why anyone’s there. He’s just dealing with it, along with his friends, the equally dumb Bubba, whose stories about shrimp are hilarious, and the brilliant Gary Sinise (whatever happened to him?) as soon to be disabled Lt. Dan. EDIT: As Jimmy reminded me, the soundtrack throughout is amazing, evoking the perfect mood for each era. I wouldn't normally edit a review because of comments, but it really is that good and so important.

The other big influence on his life other than his mother, is Jenny (Robin Wright), the little girl who is the only one to show him kindness and whose life runs parallel to Gump’s. While he is like the feather at the start, just letting the breeze take him everywhere, she seems constantly in search of something, always refusing his devotion. I thought this was the films weakness, because like everything else, you have no idea where she’s going to end up, which in itself is fine, but then they kind of shoehorn in the last chapter. I didn’t like how she came across and I didn’t like that it was almost an afterthought. It was too much to tack on as an epilogue when the rest of the film was on the bus stop bench.

The bad points are largely inconsequential. You’ll love it or hate it, regardless. It is an original film with a good heart and a fiendish sense of humour. By the end, I was sold on the character and even the theme stopped annoying me!

However: “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Read the card, you pillock.


(From Jon's Best Picture Oscar Marathon on February 18th, 2009)

"Due South" marathon, a review by Tom

1.02 Diefenbaker's Day Off (1994-09-29)
Writer: Paul Haggis (Created By), Kathy Slevin (Writer)
Director: Joe Scanlan
Cast: Paul Gross (Constable Benton Fraser), David Marciano (Detective Ray Vecchio), Beau Starr (Lt. Harding Welsh), Daniel Kash (Detective Louis Gardino), Tony Craig (Detective Jack Huey), Catherine Bruhier (Elaine), Madolyn Smith-Osborne (Mackenzie King), Brendan Kelly (Charlie), Azura Bates (Lucy), Tony Cacciotti (Vince), David Eisner (Dr. Howard), Marvin Karon (Warren Knoop), Angela Moore (Head Nurse), Richard Hardacre (Mercedes Driver), Eric Fink (Maitre 'D), William Dunlop (Irishman), Kevin Frank (Animal Control Officer), Rebecca McLaughlin (Dr. Mason)

Another fun episode. It's nice to see that Fraser can count on Ray (aquisition of the "wolf" license).

I never get tired hearing the opening theme song.

Rating:

(From "Due South" marathon on June 23rd, 2009)