. FHD ( + ) Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr

Michael Dorsey is a respected actor, but nobody in New York wants to hire him because he is a perfectionist and difficult to work with. After many months without a job, Michael hears of an opening on the popular daytime soap opera Southwest General from his friend and acting student Sandy Lester, who tries out for the role of hospital administrator Emily Kimberly. In desperation, he impersonates a woman, auditioning as “Dorothy Michaels“, and gets the part. Michael takes the job as a way to raise $8,000 to produce a play, written by his roommate Jeff Slater, which will star himself and Sandy. Michael plays his character as a feisty feminist, which surprises the other actors and the crew, who expected Emily to be (as written) another swooning female. His character quickly becomes a national sensation. When Sandy catches Michael in her bedroom half undressed because he wants to try on her clothes in order to get more ideas for Dorothy’s wardrobe, he covers up by claiming he wants to have sex with her. Exacerbating matters further, he is attracted to one of his co-stars, Julie Nichols, a single mother in an unhealthy relationship with the show’s amoral, sexist director, Ron Carlisle. At a party, when Michael (as himself) approaches Julie with a pick-up line that she had previously told Dorothy she would be receptive to, she throws a drink in his face. Later, as Dorothy, when he makes tentative advances, Julie—having just ended her relationship with Ron per Dorothy’s advice—makes it known that she is not a lesbian.... Directed by Sydney Pollack Produced by Charles Evans Sydney Pollack Dick Richards Ronald L. Schwary Screenplay by Larry Gelbart Murray Schisgal Barry Levinson (uncredited) Elaine May (uncredited) Story by Don McGuire Larry Gelbart Starring Dustin Hoffman Jessica Lange Teri Garr Dabney Coleman Charles Durning Music by Dave Grusin Cinematography Owen Roizman Edited by Fredric Steinkamp William Steinkamp