Colin Poole Essays - Dustin Hoffman, Theatre, Dorothy, Dorsey, Film

Colin Poole ENGL 217 Paper 2 - Acting The movie Tootsie contains an interesting acting performance with a kind of duality to it. In the film, Dustin Hoffman plays a struggling character actor named Michael Dorsey. Dorsey, a talented actor, is having trouble finding work, as his reputation of being difficult to work with makes it so that no one w ants to hire him. Therefore, so he can find acting work, Dorsey dresses up as a woman, becoming Dorothy Michaels, and quickly becomes a national sensation. Hoffman's performance is quite interesting in the film, as he not only has to play role of Michael Dorsey, but the role of Dorothy Michaels, or more accurately, Dorothy Michaels as played by Michael Dorsey. More interesting are the specific ways in which Hoffman gives you a sense of both characters. Essentially, there are two different characters being portrayed here. In addition to the mannerisms Hoffman adopts to portray Michael , he adopts an entirely new set of mannerisms to portray Dorothy. The w ays in which the two characters contrast, at times very comedically, also serves to give viewers a sense of the characters that Hoffman portrays. Ultimately, Dustin Hoffman's performance gives us a sense of his character through the mannerisms he exhibits for each character, the way they both contrast, and additionally the way Hoffman's characters view themselves. Michael Dorsey is a character that, through Hoffman's performance, we learn quickly is nitpicky, arrogant, and generally challenging and tedious to be around. His body language is often defensive, and he tends to stand and address people in closed off positions, such as with his arms crossed, when speaking. He is quick to get defensive and to lash out at others, and he seems to believe that everyone is wrong except for himself, most of the time. This is highlighted during a heated argument when Michael's manager informs Michael that no one in town wants to work with him because of his reputation, and he responds with a callous wave of the hand, dismissing the charge that this predicament is his own fault. Additionally, he has a keen attention to detail, which we learn not only from his own admission in the film, but from the way we watch him fuss over outfits and wigs used by his alter ego, Dorothy Michaels, and from how he will at times verbally assault others, such as whe n he is showing his friend Sandy how to act angry, to challenge them to do more than they believe they are capable of. Additionally, while preparing to be Dorothy Michaels, Dorsey meticulously shaves his legs, applies make up, and carries out a long and high maintenance routine to make sure that she is convincing to other people. Through these actions, we get a sense of Michael Dorsey's arrogance, commitment to perfection in acting, and some of his other character flaws. This, however, is only half of his performance in the film, and the character of Dorothy Michaels functions as essentially an entirely different character in the film. Dorothy Michaels is a contrast from Michael Dorsey, and a dramatic one at that. We first see Dorothy walking down the street, self-consciously adjusting her outfit and wig to blend in and appear as an actual woman, rather than as Michael Dorsey dres sed in drag. Interestingly, Hoffman's portrayal of a female character in this way is not the stereotypical performance that a viewer would likely initially expect. Dorothy Michaels becomes a character in the movie in her own right, and this is due large in part to Hoffman's nuance in portraying her. Firstly we get a keen sense that even Michael Dorsey seems to view Dorothy Michaels as if she is a separate individual. He has created an entirely back story for her, he is very particularly about what she would wear, the way she would conduct herself, and about the values she's holds. Dorsey holds to this ideal to the point of absurdity at times, at one point kicking his roommate out of their apartment so as not to imply that Dorothy has loose morals, because, as his roommate sums up, she is " not that kind of girl". Additionally, Dorothy