Personal Response
I wonder if this movie was one of the films that initiated the secret gender-flip trope later seen in movies like White Chicks or Mrs. Doubtfire. When I started watching it, I thought it used a cliché topic, but since it’s older, I imagine it was one of the first to explore this dynamic, and I think it really is. I think Hoffman did a really, really good job.
The most important lesson of this movie for me was seeing the misogyny that women have to go through in the art scene, such as Hollywood in the 80s and even today. This is a comedy, but we can clearly see how women are oppressed, harassed, and even violated. Dorothy almost got raped, and the one who received an apology was Jeff. Basically, it was considered “wrong” because she was in a relationship, not because she was almost raped, which was incredible to me. Nobody in the movie makes a big deal out of it. It’s treated as, “Oh well, we just got out of that one,” but no one acknowledges that Dorothy was nearly assaulted.
Michael understood a lot about the world of women by becoming Dorothy, but not completely. He was still pretty bad with Sandy, he was never really into her, just playing games. He was mad that Julie was being played with, but he was doing the exact same thing, revealing a lot about men’s real intentions. I would like to believe things have changed in 40 years, but unfortunately I’m sure that’s not the case.
Hoffman’s revelation about the character Dorothy was really impressive. For him, it wasn’t just a character; it was stepping into a woman’s world. Seeing how tough it was for him not to be considered a “pretty woman” really shows how hard it is for women in general. There’s this expectation that every woman must be beautiful, and if you’re not, you’re placed into a different category. Meanwhile, men don’t have to be beautiful, they just have to be themselves. Even though this is an old movie, that expectation still exists today. And now, women not only have to be beautiful; they also have to be skinny, be good mothers, and have a career.